


King Arthur and the Search for Merlin

by kingachilles



Category: King Arthur (2004), Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 23:51:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 44,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4765637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingachilles/pseuds/kingachilles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 500 A.D.  King Arthur and his knights are being beset by three different armies at the same time.  Their only hope is to find the powerful wizard of legend - Merlin - and somehow convince him to help defeat the mighty Roman army coming up from the south.  How will they find Merlin - a man that no one has seen in almost a hundred years?  How will they convince him to join their struggle?  Can one man defeat an entire army of over 100 thousand men all by himself?  Find out in this thrilling addition to the Arthurian legend!<br/>NOTE:  This was written as a graphic novel so there are captions after each bit of dialogue depicting the pictures that would go along with it.  Not the kind of format most people are used to reading but it's a good story and I think some people will really enjoy it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	King Arthur and the Search for Merlin

Chapter 1: The King's Predicament 

Caption: England - 500 A.D.  
Narrator: It is an ominous time for King Arthur and his kingdom. Not only is he being attacked from the Scottish rebels in the north and the Irish barbarians from the west but his most hated enemy Lucius is coming up from the south leading a powerful Roman army with over 100 thousand of the world's most skilled and experienced soldiers in it. [Picture of a map of England with arrows coming from the three different directions]

Narrator: His attempts to form alliances with the Scottish and Irish have failed, and with his army spread out between two fronts he has no men left to meet the mighty Roman army that is already setting sail from the shores of the French coast on their way to the southern tip of England. He barely even has enough men available to guard the magnificent castle of Camelot. [Picture of Camelot]

King Arthur: It seems that fate has conspired against us. Attacked by three armies all at the same time. [Picture of King Arthur and his 12 knights sitting around the round table all hanging their heads]

Galahad: Maybe if we just left a small contingent force dug in at the northern and western fronts we could send the bulk of our army to meet the Romans. After all, the Scottish and Irish armies are not very powerful. It shouldn’t take too much just to hold them off. [Galahad talking]

King Arthur: No Galahad that would never work. Though their armies are small and poorly equipped compared to ours…they have powerful men fighting within their ranks. [King Arthur talking]

King Arthur: The Scottish have the elite company of Highlanders, men who were born and raised high in the frosty mountains where the air is thin, food is scarce, and only the strong survive. When they come down from those mountains they have the lung capacity of two normal men and can fight for hours at a time without taking a break. [Picture of a group of muscular, long haired, wild looking men wearing kilts and carrying large swords and axes marching down from the mountains]

King Arthur: They are strong and bloodthirsty, far better warriors than most of our soldiers are. They would overrun a small contingent of our army in a matter of hours, and lead the whole of the Scottish army right to our doorstep. [Picture of giant Highlanders hacking away at English soldiers with swords and axes and throwing heavy boulders like they were stones] 

King Arthur: The Irish are no different. They have the elite squadron of Berserkers, deadly killers who throw themselves into battle with no thought for their own safety. Frightening men every one. [Picture of armor less, tattooed madmen with crazy bloodshot eyes holding 5 foot long swords]

King Arthur: Leave a small contingent to guard against them and they would all run away at the very sight of their charge. [English soldiers running away with fear in their eyes as crazed Berserkers go running wildly after them]

King Arthur: …(Sigh)… Besides, I’m afraid that even if we had our entire army at our disposal we still might not be a match for the Romans. They are sending over 100 thousand skilled Roman soldiers to our shores and we have but 60 thousand soldiers in our entire army. [Picture of a battlefield with 100 thousand Romans lined up against 60 thousand English soldiers]

King Arthur: Without the full strength of our army we don’t stand a chance. If only the damned Scottish and Irish would listen to reason, the Romans would never be able to beat our combined strength. Now, however, it looks as though we may all be doomed. [King Arthur talking solemnly]

Tristan: Damn it Arthur, why did you have to go and make enemies with such a powerful man?!! For all of these years we’ve been allied with the Romans and now you’ve turned your back on them and brought their full wrath down upon our heads. And for what? The kingdom is done for now and it’s all your fault! [Tristan talking angrily]

Kay: That be our King yeh talking to Tristan! Watch yer bloody mouth. [Kay talking as he slams his fist on the table]

King Arthur: Maybe he’s right Kay. I should have known better than to stand up to Lucius. Now my shortsightedness has probably cost us our Kingdom. [King Arthur talking solemnly as Kay and Tristan glare at each other] 

Percivale: You did the right thing Arthur. What is the point of having a Kingdom if you don’t stand up for what you believe in? I believe I speak for everyone at this table, even Tristan, when I say that I would rather have no Kingdom at all than a Kingdom with no morals and no ideals to stand up for. [Percivale talking]

Lamarak: Well said Percivale. What’s the point of having a Kingdom with no code of honor. I’m sure that none of us would want to be a puppet Kingdom for the Romans to command like we were their slaves. To hell with Lucius. To hell with Rome. [Lamarak talking]

King Arthur: Yes Lamarak you’re right, to hell with Rome. They have no respect for Chivalry. I only wish that the Scottish or Irish understood what an invasion by them will mean. Now it seems that all is lost. [King Arthur talking] 

Lancelot: There may yet be one option left open to us Arthur. One last chance to save our country. [Lancelot talking, looking cocky and sly]

King Arthur: And what would that be sir Lancelot? [King Arthur talking, looking curious] 

Lancelot: The last remaining wizard. [Lancelot talking, looking confident and determined]

[Picture of all the knights looking either curious, skeptical, or hopeful]

King Arthur: The legendary Merlin? What makes you think he is still alive? The last time anyone saw him was over 100 years ago during the last of the wizard wars. Surely he would have died by now. [King Arthur talking, looking skeptical but hopeful]

Lancelot: Not necessarily. It is said that wizards didn’t reach their prime until they were 100 years old. Is it hard to believe that one of the most powerful among them could live to be over 200? [Lancelot talking] 

Bors: Nobody has seen him for so many years though. Even if he is still alive how on earth would we find him? [Bors talking]

Kay: When I was a wee lad growing up in the Highlands I used to hear talk of this wizard. I would hear tales of an old wizard living on the northern shores of Scotland. They used to say he liked the smell of the ocean and the cold northerly winds. [Kay talking]

Lancelot: It would be worth our time to attempt to find this man. As a last hope at least. [Lancelot talking]

King Arthur: But would one wizard be able to defeat an entire Roman army with over 100 thousand men? Even the most powerful one might not be able to do it by himself. [King Arthur talking, still looking skeptical but now much more hopeful]

Lancelot: Haven’t you heard the tales of what the wizards were able to do? I heard them all as a child and can remember every one. Amazing power these men had at their disposal. [Lancelot talking]

King Arthur: But…those were just fairy tales. Surely you don’t believe all of those stories? [King Arthur talking]

Lancelot: Oh but King, they were not just fairy tales. They are true stories, documented fact. The wizards used to summon horrible creatures, they could control the weather, invade peoples minds, they could do all sorts of amazing things. [Picture of wizards summoning dragons, causing storms, etc…]

Lancelot: …Haven’t you ever seen the old ruins of castle Cree? A sturdy castle with good foundation destroyed by a tidal wave when it is over 10 miles inland! [Picture of the ruins]

Lancelot: A single wizard, if still powerful enough, could destroy an army of 100 thousand men! The Romans would be no match for him! [Lancelot talking excitedly]

King Arthur: If so then he would be the answer to all of our problems. Hmm…It’s a long shot but it seems that it is our only hope of preserving our Kingdom. [King Arthur talking]

Bors: What do we have to lose? Come on Arthur, lets go find this geezer! [Bors talking]

King Arthur: Yes Bors, and we must find him right away. The Romans will be here within a week and our castle will be left virtually unguarded. We shall leave for the northern shores of Scotland immediately. [King Arthur talking, looking determined]

King Arthur: Lancelot [small picture of Lancelot], Galahad [picture of Galahad], Bors [picture of Bors], Kay [picture of Kay], Lamarak [picture of Lamarak], and Percivale…[picture of Percivale]

King Arthur: You men will come with me to find the wizard. [Close up of King Arthur]

King Arthur: Gawaine and Bedivere, you will go up north to help command our army fighting the Scottish. [Split picture of Gawaine and the one handed Bedivere]

King Arthur: Geraint and Gareth, you will help command the army fighting against the Irish. [Split picture of Geraint and Gareth]

King Arthur: …And Tristan and Gaheris you will stay here and look over the castle. [Split picture of Tristan and Gaheris]

King Arthur: Good luck to everyone. And remember what we’re fighting for. OUR Kingdom, OUR way of life, and OUR CHIVALRIC CODE. [King Arthur looking at the wall where the Chivalric Code of Honor sits]

Lancelot: For COURAGE!   
Galahad: For PERSEVERANCE!   
Kay: For PATIENCE!   
Percivale: For HOPE!   
Bors: For FAITH!   
Lamarak: For LOYALTY!   
Gawaine: For TRUTH!   
Geraint: For COURTESY!   
Bedivere: For COMPASSION!   
Tristan: For LOVE!   
Gareth: For JUSTICE!  
Gaheris: For GENEROSITY!   
King Arthur: And for everything else that makes a Knight CHIVALROUS! [Picture of all the Knights standing up with their swords pointed in the air around the table]

All: WE ARE THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE!!! [Picture of all the knights touching swords] 

 

Chapter 2: In Search of a Legend

 

[Picture of King Arthur, Lancelot, Galahad, Kay, Percivale, Bors, and Lamarak riding away from the castle on their horses]

King Arthur: Our first stop will be Stonehenge. We’re going to need its healing magic on this perilous journey. [Picture of King Arthur with his men riding behind him] 

Galahad: Tell me something father, where does Stonehenge get its magic from? Did the wizards create it? [Galahad riding next to Lancelot]

Lancelot: Nobody really knows who created the Stonehenge. It was created in ancient times before anyone can remember. It may have been created even before Adam and Eve. [Lancelot talking]

Galahad: Hmm. Maybe God created it and put it here to show that England is the most sacred land on earth. [Galahad talking]

Lancelot: God may have created it son but he didn’t put it here. Stonehenge is from Ireland. [Lancelot talking with a smile on his face as Galahad looks surprised]

Lancelot: Around 100 years ago, right after the wizard wars, Merlin brought it here by levitating all of the stones and putting them here. [Picture of Merlin sitting on top of a giant eagle as he levitates all of the stones and flies across the sea towards England]

Galahad: Really?! Why did he do that? [Galahad talking next to Lancelot]

Lancelot: Nobody knows why. But the Irish weren’t pleased when he stole their most sacred relic I can tell you that. They have been invading England ever since, trying to claim the lands surrounding Stonehenge as their own. [Lancelot talking to Galahad]

Galahad: But if it’s rightfully theirs then shouldn’t we give it back to them? Help them transport it back to their country somehow? [Galahad talking]

Lancelot: That would seem to be the fair thing to do but you must remember that Merlin was a very wise and venerable man. If he went through the trouble of bringing Stonehenge here he did it for an important purpose and we must honor that purpose by protecting it and keeping it exactly where he placed it. [Lancelot talking to Galahad]

Galahad: I see. But it’s a shame that we must be at war with the Irish for such a thing. It’s understandable that they would want to take their own sacred relic back. [Galahad talking to Lancelot]

Lancelot: You’re right son, it is a shame. But that is what we always fight for. We train to become strong so that we can fight for what WE believe in and protect OUR way of life. Even if the Irish are justified in their desire to get Stonehenge back we must still fight to protect it. [Lancelot talking to Galahad]

Lancelot: This is why a code of honor like the Chivalric code is so important. We must first use our wisdom and our heart to guide us before using our swords and our fists to defend our beliefs. Otherwise we will just end up being power hungry and destructive like the Romans. [Picture of the Round Table chamber with the Chivalric code on one wall, a giant cross on the left wall, and two crossed swords on the right wall]

Lancelot: When it’s all said and done we can only do our best to make the right decisions, and hope that we are carrying out Gods will. [Close up of Lancelot] 

Caption: Day 1 [Picture of a map of England with a dotted line showing the Knights’ trek from Camelot to Stonehenge about 5 miles away]

King Arthur: Ah here we are, Stonehenge. The first stop on the way to any great adventure. [Arthur and his knights approaching Stonehenge]

King Arthur: We’ll rest here for awhile while we transform our water supply. Make sure your horses are well fed. We won’t be making very many stops on this trip. [King Arthur and his men dismounting their horses at Stonehenge]

[Picture of everyone carrying their jugs of water over to the stones]

Lamarak: Ah there‘s nothing like water fresh from the Stonehenge. Makes ya feel like you could live to be a thousand years old. [Lamarak pouring a jug of water onto the stone and letting it flow down a groove into a bucket]

Galahad: How does this make the water magical? [Galahad looking at what Lamarak is doing]

King Arthur: As the water travels down the stone it picks up dust particles from the magic rock. The dust particles get dissolved and become part of the water itself causing the water to have healing and nourishing properties. [Close up of the water traveling down the groove in the stone and into the bucket] 

Lamarak: Shhh. Am I the only one who hears that? [Lamarak standing up and drawing his daggers]

Galahad: It sounds like a group of wild animals! [Galahad looking alarmed]

Kay: That’s not wild animals boy. That be BERSERKERS!   
King Arthur: Everybody grab your weapons!!! [Picture of Kay staring into the tree line about a 100 yards away from Stonehenge and King Arthur pulling out Excalibur]

Bors: What the hell are Berserkers doing all the way down here?   
Kay: I don‘t know but they won‘t be here for long. At least their bloody spirits won‘t be. [Picture of Lancelot, Galahad, Bors, Percivale, and Kay running toward their horses to get their weapons]

King Arthur: Hurry up and prepare yourselves for battle! There won’t be any reasoning with the likes of these men. Looks like there‘s about 20 of them! [King Arthur standing ready for battle next to one of the giant stones with his two handed sword out in front of him. Lamarak is standing next to him with his daggers poised for battle as well]

Kay: Hurry up ya bloody fools. Yeh don’t need to bring yer whole damn arsenals.   
Bors: Quit your whining you big oaf. We could all eat lunch here and still get to the battle before you manage to lumber over there. [Picture of Kay talking to Percivale, Bors, and Lancelot as he grabs his spear and heads off to battle. Galahad has his two swords and is already running towards the front lines. Percivale, Bors, and Lancelot however are busy grabbing all sorts of weapons from off of their horses backs]

King Arthur: You’d better fall back Lamarak. Your style isn’t suited for fighting these men. [Arthur and Lamarak standing next to each other as the Berserkers get closer]

Lamarak: You’re right Arthur I’m better suited for fighting Knights weighted down with armor. My quickness won’t do me much good against all of those wild beasts. I’ll protect your rear. [Lamarak backing up]

King Arthur: Here they come! [King Arthur blocks an attack with his sword as four other Berserkers come at him from all directions]

[Picture of Arthur being struck by four Berserkers on his head, right shoulder, stomach, and right leg as he slices right through the stomach of the Berserker in front of him and causes his guts to fall out of the newly opened slit]

Kay: Lamarak yeh lousy coward. Protect the King! [Kay standing in the middle of the Stonehenge yelling at Lamarak as he stabs a Berserker in the face with his spear]

Lamarak: Arthur has his armor and Excalibur to protect him he doesn’t need me. I’m the one who needs protecting! [Lamarak is in the middle of Stonehenge with Kay dodging an attack from a Berserker]

[Overhead picture of the Berserkers surrounding Stonehenge as Arthur fights with six of them all by himself, Kay fights with two in the middle of Stonehenge, Lamarak is running away from one in the middle of Stonehenge, Galahad is near Kay fighting with a Berserker, Lancelot and Bors are charging into a group of 6 Berserkers north of Stonehenge, and Percivale is getting ready to shoot a Berserker to the south of Stonehenge]

Kay: How many times do I have to stab these bastards before they die damnit! [Kay fending off an attack from a Berserker who is missing an eye and has bloody holes on his left shoulder and stomach]

Galahad: Cut their heads off! That stops them right in their tracks. [Galahad using his two swords to chop off one of the Berserkers heads.]

Lamarak: Poison sure doesn’t seem to do anything to them. [Lamarak uses his two blood tipped daggers to shield the insides of his forearms as a Berserker swings his sword right into them and knocks Lamarak backwards]

Lamarak: This guy should be dead already with the amount of poison I put in his bloodstream. [Picture of Lamarak rolling backwards and then getting to his feet]

Lamarak: I‘m really getting annoyed! [Lamarak has an angry look on his face as he jumps backwards and puts his right foot on one of the giant stones that is behind him as the Berserker he’s fighting takes a swipe at this stomach and barely misses him]

Lamarak: Take this! [Lamarak kicks off from the stone and plunges the dagger in his left hand right into the Berserkers face as he brings the dagger in his right hand towards the back of Berserkers head.]

Kay: Ahh my spear! [Kay is holding his spear up over his head to block an attack and the sword cuts the spear in half and hits Kay’s helmet. He gets an angry look on his face.]

Kay: That was me favorite weapon damn you!!! [Kay takes the two ends of his spear and shoves each end through one of the Berserkers ears, forcing a little of his brain to squeeze out of his nose]

King Arthur: Keep up the good work men! [Arthur has all sorts of dents and holes in his armor as he split’s a Berserkers skull in two with Excalibur]

Percivale: (Thought bubble) What the hell is going on? My poison arrows aren’t having any effect on these guys. [Percivale runs away as a Berserker with 6 arrows sticking out of him gives chase]

Percivale: (Thought bubble) Maybe one through the brain will do the trick. [Percivale turns around and shoots the Berserker chasing him right through one of his eyes]

Lancelot: These guys are really living up to their reputation. [Lancelot is fighting near Bors. He shoots a Berserker in the stomach with his crossbow then uses his mace to smash one over the head as the spiked ball completely obliterates the top of the Berserkers skull]

Bors: I need some breathing room damnit! I can’t light any of my bombs with these buzzards pecking at me. [Bors fends off an attack with his shield as he swipes at a Berserker with his short sword]

Lancelot: Run towards that hill! I’ll protect your retreat. [Lancelot points toward a hill has he blocks an attack with his shield] 

Bors: Just give me 5 seconds Lancelot, that’s all I’m gonna need. [Bors runs off as two Berserkers give chase] 

Lancelot: Just make sure you come back. [Lancelot uses his spear to trip up the two Berserkers running after Bors and prepares to cut off one of their feet with his axe]

Bors: Just make sure you get out of the way when I return. [Bors is running off with a grin on his face as he gets out a Molotov cocktail.]

Percivale: (Thought bubble) Damn I’m out of poison arrows already. Oh well they don’t seem to be doing much good anyways. I wonder if one of these armor piercing arrows will be more effective. [Percivale aims a golden tipped arrow at two Berserkers who are running at him]

[Picture of the arrow flying through the air and hitting the Berserker in front right in the stomach and stopping him in his tracks as the Berserker behind him runs right into his back]

Percivale: (Though bubble) Oh my God they’re stuck together. And they’re still coming at me!!! [The two Berserkers are stuck together at the stomach but they are still running toward Percivale with a crazed look on their faces]

Percivale: (Thought bubble) These Berserkers really are like wild beasts. This should put them down though. [Percivale aims another armor piercing arrow at the two Berserkers who are coming at him with their swords raised]

[Picture of the arrow flying through the air and pinning the Berserkers together at the throat this time]

Percivale: (Thought bubble) Are these guys human?!!! [Percivale jumps out of the way as the two Berserkers throw their swords at him in one last desperate attempt to kill him.]

Percivale: (Thought bubble) I’d hate to see an entire army of these guys. [Percivale sits up on the ground watching the two Berserkers as they wriggle around on the ground trying to crawl over to him with their last remaining bit of life]

Bors: Watch out Lancelot. Here comes BORS!!!  
Lancelot: It’s about time you came back! [Lancelot is fending off attacks with his shield as he uses his sword to stab at a Berserker that has Lancelot’s spear stuck through his waist and his mace stuck in his right shoulder]

Bors: Watch this you Berserker bastards. Time for the Bors specialty! [Bors has a big smile on his face as he holds his contraption. He has four bottles of liquid tied around a pouch with a fuse coming out of it. He smacks a piece of flint against a piece of his metal armor and it catches on fire then he uses it to light his contraption] 

Lancelot: (Thought bubble) Uh-oh. I’d better get the hell out of here. [Lancelot starts running as he sees Bors throw his contraption in his direction]

[Picture of Bors’ bomb going off next to a bunch of Berserkers as Lancelot dives to the ground at the corner of the picture. Liquid fire emanates from the explosion spraying everywhere.]

Bors: BULLSEYE! Perfect. [Bors putting his arms up in celebration as he watches his Molotov cocktails explode all over the Berserkers]

Kay: (Thought bubble) That damn Bors!!! Always doing more harm than good. [Kay is battling with a Berserker when he notices that his right leg is on fire]

[Picture of Kay rolling in the dirt then coming up with the tip of his sword headed right for the Berserkers throat]

Lancelot: Bors you idiot! You just made them crazier!!! [Lancelot is fending off attacks from two Berserkers that are engulfed in flames]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Bloody hell!!! Don’t these people feel pain? [Bors is taking out a bunch of pouches and tying them together as he watches 3 flaming Berserkers charging towards him]

Bors: (Thought bubble) I’d better time this just right or I’ll be in trouble. [Bors is backing up as he lights the group of pouches]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Not yet. Not yet. NOW! [Bors is running as he looks behind him. He drops the pouches and then starts running full speed]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Hope that stopped them. [Bors is running as the pouches explode violently behind him, tossing up mounds of dirt and blowing a leg off of two of the Berserkers]

[Picture of Bors looking back and seeing one of the flaming Berserkers running through the falling debris of dirt, blood, and flesh]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Damn one left. Not much choice now, guess I’ll have to fight him toe to toe. [Bors is taking out his sword and shield as he gets ready for combat]

Lancelot: (Thought bubble) The legends of these men were true. They really are oblivious to pain. [Lancelot is using his special shield, which is sharpened all the way around, to slice through the neck of one of the flaming Berserkers. Blood spurts out of the Berserkers neck as flaming chunks of flesh drip off of his body.]

Lancelot: (Thought bubble) Being in this crazed state of mind however doesn’t do much for their skill level. They just swing their swords wildly hoping to hit something. It’s not very hard to dodge their attacks. [Lancelot dodges an attack then uses both hands to slice the Berserker from his crotch to his throat with his sword]

Lancelot: (Thought bubble) They’re definitely hard to kill though. I’ll give them that. [Lancelot stands among the carnage of bloody and flaming Berserker carcasses]

King Arthur: Are you ok Lancelot?   
Lancelot: I’ll be a lot better after I get some Stonehenge water in me but yes, I’m fine. [King Arthur is walking through the carnage over to Lancelot as Kay, Galahad, Lamarak, and Percivale follow behind him. Lancelot is inspecting a bloodstained gash in his armor on his right thigh.]

King Arthur: Where’s Bors?   
Lancelot: Last time I saw him he was running that way. [Everybody has alarmed looks on their faces as they look toward the dust cloud that was kicked up when Bors set off his last explosion]

King Arthur: Ah there he is.  
Kay: Bloody fool. [everyone breathes a sigh of relief as Bors comes walking through the dust cloud with his sword dripping with little pieces of burnt flesh]

Bors: Never fear for my safety dear friends. I am a master of long range combat as well as being very handy with the sword.  
Kay: Look what yeh did to me wonderful armor yeh bloody moron. It’s scorched! Ahh this’ll never come off. [Bors comes walking up with a big smile on his face as Kay inspects his burnt leg armor]

Lamarak: Phwew, that was rough. I wouldn’t want to have to face them every day.  
Galahad: Me neither.   
Kay: Eh what er you complaining about Lamarak? All ya did was run around like a sissy the whole time.   
Percivale: I had to use half my arrows on those guys. I hope I can salvage a couple of them.  
Bors: I’ve never seen anyone get lit on fire and keep fighting like that. They were truly worthy opponents of the Bors.   
Kay: Arg, I’m surrounded by idiots. [Everybody is sitting around inspecting their wounds and their inventory. Percivale is inspecting his bloody arrows to see if any are still useable. Kay is hammering out a dent in his helmet with a rock, Lancelot is retrieving his spear and mace from a dead Berserkers body, King Arthur is inspecting the many dents and gashes in his armor, and Bors is nursing a deep cut on his left shoulder]

Lancelot: I wonder what 20 Berserkers were doing all the way out here? Surely the Irish wouldn’t be sending a scouting party this far from their front lines.  
King Arthur: They’re a long way from their army that’s for certain. They could just be a group of impetuous fools who wanted to pay a visit to their sacred relic but that’s unlikely.   
Lancelot: You think the Irish might be planning a sneak attack on Camelot? [Lancelot and King Arthur talking among the dead bodies]

King Arthur: It would make sense if they know how vulnerable our castle is. I just don’t see how they could spare a whole portion of their army to send down here. Especially not their elite units. It’s very possible though that they’re willing to lose the battle in the west in exchange for taking Camelot. [Close up of King Arthur]

King Arthur: Ok Knights listen up, here’s the plan. We don’t have a lot of time to lick our wounds. First thing we have to do is clear all of these dead bodies away from Stonehenge. Then we’ll finish transforming our water supply and try to leave here as soon as possible. [King Arthur walking towards his men who are still tending their wounds]

King Arthur: We’ll enter that forest and travel along the banks of the River Thames looking for any signs of an army. If we don’t find anything by nightfall then we’ll camp out in the forest and keep traveling up the river tomorrow. Now lets get moving. We’re going to have a lot of time to make up for after this damn diversion. [King Arthur talking to all of his men as they listen intently] 

[Picture of Lamarak pouring water onto a stone and into the bucket, Bors splashing some water on his arm, Lancelot drinking some water as he prepares his horse, and everyone else carrying dead Berserker bodies away from Stonehenge]

 

Chapter 3: The Knights One-Up Eachother

 

Lamarak: I haven’t heard, smelled, or seen any signs of an army yet Arthur. Do you really think they’re planning a sneak attack?   
King Arthur: My gut tells me they are so stay on alert. [King Arthur and his men are riding their horses along a wooded river bank as the sun sets]

King Arthur: We need to rest for the night. Let’s go into the forest and set up camp. [Arthur leading his men into the forest and away from the river bank]

King Arthur: This is some good chicken Percivale.   
Kay: Aye, nothing like fresh chicken. Way to go brother.  
Percivale: Thanks. It’s pheasant though not chicken. This is good pheasant hunting country.  
Galahad: Man those Berserkers really tired me out today.  
Lancelot: Yea they were something. [The men are all gathered around a camp fire eating dinner.]

Percivale: You guys aren’t lying. It took seven poison tipped arrows for me to just take down one of those brutes. Most people go down in less than a minute from just ONE! And you should’ve seen what happened when I hit one with an armor piercing arrow. [Percivale talking]

Percivale: The arrow went right through his stomach, came out of his back, and then went through his friends stomach who was right behind him. [Close up of the arrow piercing the two Berserkers]

Percivale: And they still kept coming!!! I even shot an arrow through their throats and they still didn’t stop running after me. [Close up of Percivale]

Lancelot: Yes those Berserkers are like rabid boars when they get going. In fact that’s exactly what they reminded me of when I was fighting them today. I got attacked by a pack of wild boars about 15 years ago when I was up north looking for the legendary Black Bear of River Tweed. [Lancelot talking]

Lancelot: …I had just acquired my castle up there and no sooner had I moved in than my servants started complaining about a giant black bear that was attacking their livestock and killing their hounds. They said the bear was over 9 feet tall and by the indentation of its footprints I could tell that it had the heft of ten large men. [Lancelot is kneeling in front of a giant paw print with his castle rising in the background]

Lancelot: …As the king of the castle I felt it was only right that I go out and slay the bear myself so I took my sturdiest spear, my heaviest axe, my most dependable crossbow, my toughest shield, and my sharpest sword and went out after that beast alone. Looking back now I probably should have taken some professional hunters with me who knew the land but I was younger in those days and much more impetuous. [Lancelot heading into the forest carrying his weapons] 

Lancelot: …I followed the tracks as far as I could but they disappeared in all of the fallen leaves and underbrush in the forest and I quickly lost track of the beast. Even so, being the headstrong man that I was back then, I kept looking, searching the forest for any sign of the giant bear. Before I knew it I was deep in the forest, a lone human in a territory ruled by wild animals. [Lancelot looking around the middle of the forest]

Lancelot: …It didn’t take long for the local inhabitants to take notice of me and what an unwelcome sight they were. I quickly found myself surrounded by a pack of ten snarling, drooling, long toothed wild boars! [Lancelot surrounded by frightening looking boars]

Lancelot: …I promptly decided to go on the offensive rather than wait for them to attack me all at once. So I grabbed my shield, readied my spear, and attacked the closest one to me. I launched my hefty spear with pinpoint accuracy hitting the boar right between the eyes and pinning its dead carcass to the ground before it even knew what had happened. [Lancelot spearing one of the boars]

Lancelot: …That is when all hell broke loose in that forest I tell you! The rest of those beasts came at me all at once looking to avenge their comrade and eat me for dinner right then and there! It was not an enviable position to be in that is for sure… [Lancelot is being attacked from all directions by 9 boars]

[Picture of Lancelot swinging his axe and hitting three boars in the face while blocking an attack from two with his shield]

Lancelot: Ahhrgg! [Picture of one boar sinking his teeth into the leather armor on Lancelot’s calf while another one jumps on his back and sinks his teeth into Lancelot’s shoulder]

[Lancelot falls to the ground and then uses his axe to chop the head off of the boar that is biting his calf]

Lancelot: (Thought bubble) I can’t fight all of these boars like this. I have to climb up one of these trees so I can fight them from a distance. [Lancelot gets up as he drops his shield and starts running away from the pack of crazed boars]

Lancelot: …With my left shoulder injured I knew I wouldn’t be able to use my shield any more and with my calf injured there was no way I could outrun the beasts. I knew that my only hope was to get up into a tree and pick them off one by one with my crossbow. I had ten arrows for it and I thought that would be enough... [Lancelot jumps up and slams his axe into a tree and uses it for leverage as he grabs onto the nearest branch]

[Lancelot steadies himself on some branches and pulls out an arrow and equips his crossbow]

Lancelot: (Thought bubble) I have to make each shot count. [Lancelot takes aim and shoots one of the 8 boars at the base of the tree]

Lancelot: …To my horror the arrows seemed to have no effect on the snarling beasts. I shot them in the head, in the back, I even got one poor bastard square in the eye. It didn’t slow them down a bit, they just kept trying to climb up that tree and rip the flesh from my bones. [Lancelot is looking down on the group of 8 boars with arrows coming out of various parts of their bodies]

Lancelot: …After I ran out of arrows I decided to try and wait them out but they just stayed there all night, waiting for me. The next morning I decided that I would have to make a move. It was either that or die of thirst and hunger up there on that tree branch. [Lancelot is looking down on the boars who are sitting at the base of the tree looking up at him with angry eyes]

Lancelot: …And so I readied myself for combat. I knew I would probably die but it seemed a far better fate to die fighting than to slowly waste away up there in that tree like a coward. So I drew my sword, prepared to jump down, and hoped for the best. [Lancelot is jumping down from the tree with his sword in hand]

[Picture of Lancelot falling from the tree and grabbing his axe, that is stuck in the tree, on the way down]

[Picture of Lancelot landing on top of one of the boars and driving his sword into its head as he brings his axe down on the back of a boar right next to it]

[Picture of Lancelot swinging wildly at the boars as they all try to jump on him. He cuts the throat of one of them with his sword and blood comes spurting out while at the same time driving his axe right into the middle of the face of another one]

Lancelot: It was kill or be killed at that moment my friends, and I was doing the killing!!! I must tell you my most primal instincts came out at that moment and I couldn’t even feel the injuries to my leg or shoulder. It was as if my body didn’t matter, all that mattered was killing my four legged adversaries. [Lancelot is hacking away at the boars as they bite him on his legs]

[Picture of Lancelot stabbing a boar with his sword while chopping its leg off with his axe. He is surrounded by dead boar carcasses now and blood is everywhere around him]

Lancelot: Before I knew it I had slaughtered every last one of them. Standing there at the center of all that carnage I realized that combat is about more than just skill and bravery. It’s about a creatures will to live and their God given desire to succeed. [Lancelot is standing in the middle of the 8 dead bleeding boars with his hands in the air giving off a mighty war cry]

Lancelot: It was a tough trek back to the castle with my legs completely torn apart but I eventually made it back home. [Lancelot is limping along through the forest using his bloody spear and sword as crutches. He is completely covered in blood and his legs are leaving blood tracks all over the forest floor] 

Lancelot: A few weeks later I went out with some hunters and killed the bear that had caused all of the trouble in the first place. Then I stuffed him and gave him a prominent spot at the entrance to the castle to always remind me of the primal nature that is at the heart of true combat. [Lancelot talking looking quite proud of himself]

Percivale: Wow, sounds like a tough fight.   
Kay: Big deal so yeh killed some overgrown pigs. That’s nothing compared to what I did last year when those bloody bandits came and invaded me estate near Cornwall. [The men are all gathered around the fire listening intently to each others stories]

Kay: I had just gotten home from our campaign against those mighty Viking invaders and I was looking forward to some much deserved rest and relaxation. I was in no mood to be dealing with some lousy thieving bastards as I’m sure yeh can well imagine. [close up of Kay]

Kay: …So there I was, only one day after getting home mind yeh, trying to relax with two of me favorite women when one of me servants came in and told me there be some intruders! I couldn’t believe me bloody ears. [Kay is laying on a couch with his feet up and a sexy wench under each arm. A frightened looking servant is talking to him and Kay has an angry look on his face] 

Kay: …I didn’t know what I might be up against so I got all me gear on and suited up with me best weapons. [Kay is putting on his armor as his servants bring him his shield, spear, sword, and axe]

Kay: …By the time I’d gotten ready the bastards were already coming up to me main house. I couldn’t believe the nerve of these pig shits! Walking around without a care in the world as if they owned the place. [Kay is walking out of his front door to meet the 12 bandits who are trying to take over his property]

Kay: All of yeh bastards better have a good reason for walking all over me property like this! Do any of yeh morons know who I be? A knight of the round table I am! Yeh all had better turn around and run and hope I don’t come after yeh! [Kay is on his front lawn talking to the bandits. There are torches lighting the way to his front door and the moon is full so you can easily make out what the bandits look like]

Kay: I could tell by looking at these men that they be well armed and might just pose a challenge for me. Even though I love a challenge I tried to be kind hearted on that night and let them beg me forgiveness and escape with their worthless lives but they refused me generosity. I can’t be blamed for what I did to them after that I tell yeh. [Kay talking around the camp fire]

Bandit 1: A knight of the round table you say? Well you must be a great warrior then. But as you can plainly see there are 12 of us and only 1 of you. As great as you may be I can assure you that we are no slouches ourselves, and if you try to take on all of us at once then King Arthur will surely have an empty seat to fill at that round table once this night is through. [The head bandit is taking out his sword as he talks to Kay]

Kay: Yeh no good disrespectful lousy bastard! I’ll kill yeh all like mangy two legged dogs now for sure! I’ll be using yeh as fertilizer when this night be through!!! [Close up of Kay yelling angrily] 

Bandit 2: Don’t flatter yourself fool! We’ve killed tougher men than you before.   
Bandit 3: Just give us what we want. Since you’re a knight of the round table we’ll just take your gold and silver and leave everything else intact.   
Bandit 4: Yea. Out of respect we’ll let you and your servants live. If you give us trouble though we’ll kill every last person on this estate. [Picture of the bandits talking to Kay as they take out their weapons. Two of the big ones have war hammers, four of the bandits have battle axes, three of them have swords and shields, two of them have bows, and one of them has a mace and a shield. They’re all wearing leather armor] 

Kay: Ahhhh, you’re gonna eat them words!!! [Kay is charging into battle with his spear in his right hand and his shield strapped to his left hand and forearm]

Kay: …I have to admit they had a pretty good coordinated attack. It posed no threat to me of course but would’ve been enough to kill most men. [The bandits spread out and begin to surround Kay as he charges right into the middle of their attack. The two archers are standing in front of Kay getting ready to shoot him]

Kay: …I couldn’t put me face plate down on account of that it was too dark to see if I did that and I almost got me self shot in the face before the fighting even began but me surprising reflexes saved me as usual. [Kay blocks two arrows with his shield that would have hit him square in the face]

[Picture of Kay launching his spear and hitting one of the archers right through the stomach. The spear goes through the mans stomach and impales him as it sticks in the ground behind him]

[Kay pulls out his sword and turns around as the rest of the bandits come at him from all directions. Kay blocks a sword attack from above with his shield and prepares to stab the attacker in the stomach]

[Kay stomps on an axe that is coming for his left leg, pinning the attackers arm to the ground, and then stabs the attacker in the face while using his shield to block a sword that was headed towards his face]

Kay: …I won’t lie to yeh, I had some close calls that night. One of the bigger ones came up behind me and almost smashed me on the head with his war hammer but he merely caught me a good one on me shoulder. I’ll admit it was a mighty blow but it didn’t really affect me much. [Kay is fighting with a bandit in front of him as a war hammer comes crashing down on his left shoulder causing him to scream in pain]

[Picture of Kay turning around, knocking the hammer out of the way with his shield, then stabbing the attacker in the neck]

Kay: Aaargh! [Kay is fighting with 7 of the bandits with two arrows stuck in his back armor. Another arrow comes zooming in hitting him right underneath the right armpit where his armor is weak]

[Kay turns around in a rage and throws his sword at the archer behind him hitting him in the chest and knocking him backward with its force]

Kay: Aaargh! Damn it!!! [An axe comes down on Kay’s right shoulder sticking in his armor]

[Kay turns around angrily pulling out his axe and chops off the arm connected to the axe]

[Kay hacks at one bandit with his battle axe while smashing another ones face in with the side of his shield]

[Kay gets hit with a war hammer in the stomach and doubles over]

[As Kay is doubled over he swings his axe into the side of the attacker and drives it half way through the mans body]

[Kay gets hit on his back with a battle axe and it knocks him to the ground]

[Kay gets up off the ground and punches the guy with the axe right in his jaw]

Kay: …At that point I was all out of weapons and still had a bunch of them bastards coming at me from everywhere. That’s when the morons saw me full power. I ran to get me main weapon, the trusty spear that brings sure death to any enemy who tries to oppose me. [Kay is running from the mêlée as the 5 remaining bandits chase after him. Kay has a big dent in the armor on his left shoulder, he has an axe sticking out of the armor on his right shoulder, two arrows are sticking out of his back, and there is blood pouring all over his armor from his right armpit]

Kay: …When I got to me spear I found that it was stuck so far into me enemy that I couldn’t get it out in time to fight off the bastards behind me. But being the uncompromising man that I am I decided to use it anyways, after all it be me favorite weapon. [Kay picks up his spear with the half dead archer still impaled on the middle of it]

[Picture of Kay turning around with his spear and shoving it right into the stomach of the first bandit he comes across]

Kay: …The bloody fool ran right into me spear and got himself impaled so far onto it that I couldn’t get HIM off either. Didn’t make much difference to me though, I figured there’d still be room for one more on there. [Kay his using both hands to hoist his spear in the air with the two bandits stuck on the middle of it]

[Picture of bandit coming at Kay with his sword raised]

[Kay uses his spear to deflect the sword]

[Kay draws his spear back, preparing for the attack]

[Kay steps forward with his left leg as he thrusts his spear into another bandits stomach]

Kay: …yeh can believe me or not when I tell yeh that the spearhead went completely through the poor bastards stomach and came out the other side. THREE grown men on the same spear!!! It was me own personal human shish kabob! [Kay is giving off a war cry as he holds the spear in the air with three bandits skewered on it]

[Picture of Kay twirling his human shish kabob around and knocking down the three remaining bandits]

Kay: …That’s when them disrespectful bandit bastards finally realized who they’d been dealing with. I saw the fear in their eyes then I tell you. They all looked up at me like I was the devil himself getting ready to send them to hell where they belonged. The fools ran off me property faster than a Spanish horse and never came back. [The three remaining bandits toss down their weapons and run away as Kay sticks his spear in the ground with the three half dead bodies dangling helplessly from it]

Kay: Aye but now me spear is broken in two. Even if I fix it it will never be the same again. [Kay sitting in front of the camp fire holding his broken spear looking sorrowful]

Bors: Hey come on now Kay, cheer up, you’ll find another spear as good at that one. I hate to see a grown man cry. [Bors talking as Kay looks at him angrily]

Kay: Ah but yeh should be used to it by now Bors. Yeh father cries every time he sees what a sissy yeh are. [Kay talking with a grin on his face]

Bors: Alright Kay, we’ll see what kind of sissy I am after I get done telling MY story. Killing ten wild boars and 12 bandits are both good accomplishments, don’t get me wrong. But that’s nothing compared to the destructive power of the BORS! I think that it is time for you all to learn the story of how I SINGLE HANDEDLY took out an entire platoon of over 500 Steppe Horde Chosen Warriors. [Bors talking excitedly] 

Bors: …It was 5 years ago, almost to the day in fact, that I was out on assignment near Constantinople at the southern shore of the River Danube. I was part of an English contingent of specialized soldiers helping the Roman general Publius defend Constantinople against the armies of the mighty Visigoths invading from the north. [Bors is sitting in a Roman encampment eating dinner with his English comrades]

Bors: …The campaign had been going well until Lucius ordered a third of our army to help him in his campaign in Pannonia. No sooner had the 20 thousand troops left, than a large Visigoth army of over 50 thousand men came marching down the banks of the Black Sea. [Army of Visigoth warriors marching. They have thousands of cavalry, spearmen, archers, horse archers, and warrior priests]

Bors: …We only had 2 days before the army would reach the Danube and there were already thousands of Visigoth warriors spread throughout the region from previous battles where their armies had been routed. [Gothic soldiers setting up camp and licking their wounds after being routed by the Romans]

Bors: …Publius was worried that if these remnants were to meet up with the fresh army coming towards us then we would be badly outnumbered. He assigned me as the leader of a 25 man scouting party to travel down to Constantinople and ask for some reinforcements and fresh supplies. [Bors is riding his horse with 24 Roman soldiers following behind him] 

Bors: …We had been riding down the Banks of the Black Sea for almost an entire day when we spotted a group of row boats sitting on the shore. I quickly ordered my men to get out of sight and take cover in a wooded area about a mile inland. [Bors is leading his men away from the shore where there are a bunch of rowboats sitting on the beach] 

Bors: …I took leave of my horse and brought two of my men with me on foot to spy on the owners of those rowboats. We eventually came across an encampment with about 500 soldiers in it and, keeping out of sight, we observed them for about an hour. [Bors and two of his soldiers are laying on a hill in some bushes watching a makeshift camp with a latrine, one tent, a stables area, and a cooking area with a bunch of camp fires with animals being roasted over them]

Bors: …It didn’t take us long to figure out who these men were. We had battled their kind before and let me assure you they were no pushovers. They were Steppe Horde Chosen Warriors, the best warriors in the Visigoth army. [Picture of a group of Chosen Warriors fighting with Roman Legionnaires]

Bors: …Being the tactical genius that I am I quickly figured out their plan. They were obviously planning some sort of sneak attack on our rear flank for when the main army attacked. [Picture of the Roman army on one side of the river facing the Visigoth army on the other side preparing to attack] 

Bors: …Although there were only 500 of them they were great warriors and could do a lot of damage if they attacked unexpectedly from behind. At the very least they could take out most of our archers and make it easier for their main army to cross the river. [Picture of the Chosen Warriors hacking away at a bunch of archers]

Bors: …It was still more than a days ride to Constantinople so I knew there was not enough time to go there for help. I could have gone back to Publius and warned him but then my mission would be a failure and we would still be outnumbered. [Bors is sitting with his men contemplating what to do]

Bors: …So I decided to stay and fight! I knew it was a dangerous thing to do but it was the best chance for me to complete my mission and save our army.   
Soldier: What will we do now?  
Bors: We will stay and fight these bastards! Then we will complete our mission. [Bors is standing up excitedly talking to his men]

Bors: …And so I constructed a plan. I snuck behind enemy lines and told my men to attack as soon as they saw my signal. They knew that any signal from THE BORS would be seen from miles around and they were prepared to charge in as soon as they saw it. [the 24 men in Bors’ scouting party are sitting on their horses with their swords drawn ready for the attack]

[Picture of Bors creeping around the enemy encampment carrying a big bag over his shoulder]

[Picture of Bors sneaking up behind an enemy guard and slitting his throat with his sword]

Bors: (Thought bubble) It didn’t take these guys long to fill up their latrine. Too bad for them. [Bors is unloading his bag behind some bushes next to the latrine which is just a long trench filled with poop and pee]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Lets see, I have ten of these packets so if I distribute them every…ten feet that should create a nice even explosion of shite. I have to get them in there just right so that they will send the shite flying in the right direction. [Close up of a stick pushing a packet made up of three sacks tied together with a fuse coming out of it into the poop in the latrine]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Now for a nice layer of pitch to top it off with. [Bors is crouching down pouring a gooey liquid onto the top of the poop as he goes down the length of the latrine that has fuses coming out of it]

Bors: …I waited until the perfect moment to launch my attack. It was dinner time and they were all sitting down near their camp fires eating their freshly cooked meat. [The Chosen Warriors are having a good time eating their dinner and socializing with each other]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Ah, now for the finishing touch! [Bors is running from fuse to fuse lighting them with his piece of flint with a big grin on his face]

Bors: (Thought bubble) Now to take some quick cover. [Bors is running away full speed through the bushes with an excited look on his face]

[Picture of the packets of gunpowder going off one after the other sending mounds of flaming poop flying into the encampment]

Bors: …Picture it my friends! Hundreds of pounds of fiery shite falling from the sky!!! Can you imagine what those Chosen Warriors must have been thinking?!! They must have thought God himself had taken a giant shat on them right then and there. [The Steppe Horde Chosen Warriors are running around confused and repulsed by the shocking sight of all that poop falling on them]

Bors: …It was more than enough to put their camp into disarray. They forgot all about their weapons and could only think to run for cover. [The camp is a disaster area. Some men are running around with flaming poop on them, some men are bent over throwing up, while some are just trying to figure out what is going on]

Bors: …When my men came storming in on their horses hacking away at the enemy it was more than they could take. Through all of the confusion they thought that an entire army had launched a sneak attack on them and almost all of them grabbed whatever supplies or weapons were within arms reach and ran for their lives. [The 24 Roman soldiers are in the middle of the encampment trampling and hacking away at the confused and frightened Chosen Warriors]

[Picture of a chaotic scene of men being trampled into the poop covered ground, some Chosen Warriors fighting back and some running for their lives. Bors is in the foreground fighting with two Chosen Warriors who have collected themselves and gotten their weapons]

Bors: …Before long all of those elite warriors were either lying dead on the ground or running for their lives in all directions. I figure we killed at least a hundred of them and only lost 4 men ourselves. Quite a glorious day indeed, by anyone’s standards. [Bors and his men are in the middle of the messy carnage giving off celebratory war cries] 

Bors: …We quickly took as much of their supplies and weapons as we could carry and then burned everything else in the encampment to the ground. [Bors and his men are torching piles of weapons and supplies]

Bors: …Seeing that their platoon was scattered in all directions, a fifth of them were dead, and half of the remaining ones didn’t have weapons, I figured that they didn’t pose much of a threat any more so I continued on down to Constantinople and completed my mission. [Bors is leading his remaining men down the coastline with their horses loaded up with stolen supplies]

Bors: We came back with 5 thousand reinforcements and our main army was able to hold off the attacking Visigoths until we got there. We stayed there for another six months and not one Visigoth ever got past our defenses. [Bors is talking proudly in front of the camp fire]

Kay: Aye what a bloody moronic story that was. All yeh did was blow up some shite! Yeh men did all the work. [Kay is talking as he rolls his eyes]

Bors: Why are you always so jealous of me you big oaf? All you do is scoff at all of my great accomplishments. [Bors talking with a scowl on his face]

Kay: Yeh be a bloody idiot! [Kay is waving his arms and looking frustrated]

Lamarak: Well those were all very fine stories but I don’t think any of them match MY greatest accomplishment. [Lamarak talking]

Percivale: Oh no not again. Please stop there. [Percivale talking looking exhausted]

Lamarak: Let me tell you of the time that I killed 30 elite French Knights all by myself. Why to this day I am known all throughout France as Lamarak “The Knight Slayer” … [Lamarak talking looking proud]

Kay: Jesus H. Christ Lamarak we heard this story a million times at least already. Why don’t yeh finally give it a rest? We’re beyond the point of caring at this point. [Kay looking desperate]

Lamarak: I’ve been sitting here listening to all of your stories. Now you can all do the courteous thing and listen to my glorious tale.   
Everyone: …(Sigh)… [Lamarak is talking as everyone hangs their heads]

Lamarak: Picture it. Central France near Burgundy, the year of our lord four hundred and ninety four. There I am in the middle of the French wilderness with nothing but my wits and my two trusty daggers to protect me. [Lamarak talking as he looks wistfully into the sky]

Lamarak: …I was part of a five thousand man division that was marching up to Basel to reinforce mighty King Arthur’s main army up there. Everything had gone smoothly until we were suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by an entire army of French troops. [Lamarak is marching along with his English comrades when thousands of French soldiers come charging out of the forest]

Lamarak: …There must have been at least 20 thousand of them including thousands of the elite French Knights. I’m afraid it wasn’t much of a battle and our entire Division was quickly routed. [English soldiers are running for their lives as French Knights on horseback ride them down]

Lamarak: …In the ensuing chaos I and ten of my comrades had gotten lost in the woods and had no idea where the rest of our division was or if they were even still alive. We were exhausted from running so we decided to sit for awhile and collect ourselves. [Lamarak and his friends are sitting against trees as they try to catch their breath]

Soldier 1: Where did those bastards come from? There aren’t supposed to be any French troops in this area, much less an entire army of them!   
Soldier 2: The French must have gotten word that we were coming to reinforce King Arthur and sent part of their army to intercept us.  
Soldier 3: I hope some of our men survived. It didn’t look too good back there.  
Lamarak: The important thing right now is to keep ourselves alive and try to make it to Basel. That’s what everyone else should be doing too. [Lamarak and his men are sitting there discussing their situation]

Soldier 1: So which direction is Basel in? I have no idea where we are.  
Soldier 2: Me neither. I wasn’t paying attention when we ran off. [The soldiers are looking around trying to figure out where they are] 

Lamarak: If the sun would come out I could tell which direction to go in but the sky is full of clouds right now. Looks like it will rain soon. [Picture of the dark sky through the trees]

Soldier: That’s all we need. I can feel it sprinkling already.  
Lamarak: Shh. Does anyone else feel that? [Lamarak is holding his ear to the ground looking alarmed]

Soldier: What is it Lamarak?  
Lamarak: Here they come!!! [Lamarak is standing up pointing to some French Knights riding towards them in the distance]

Soldier: Let’s get out of here!!!  
Lamarak: Come on, this way! [Lamarak is running off followed by the other men]

Lamarak: Bloody Hell they’re coming this way too! Over here! [Lamarak stops in his tracks then changes directions]

Lamarak: Oh no. We’re surrounded.   
Soldier 1: What?!!  
Soldier 2: What do we do now?  
Soldier 3: God damn it we’re done for!!! [The men look around at Knights coming at them from all directions]

Lamarak: Form a circle! Ready your spears!  
Soldier: Th…There’s so many of them. [Lamarak and his men are all standing back to back in a circle. Everyone except Lamarak has a spear and they are all standing on the bottom of their spears with the tip in the air so that the horses won’t run them down]

Lamarak: …There we were, myself and ten inexperienced spearmen surrounded by a brigade of 30 elite French Knights. It seemed as if there was no hope of survival for any of us. [15 of the Knights are dismounting their horses and approaching the circle of trembling spearmen]

Lamarak: …The French Knights are known for their impenetrable armor. Even their horses are covered in armor and it is widely accepted that they are the hardest soldiers in the world to kill because of the fact that their armor covers every part of their body. [Close up of one of the Knights marching toward Lamarak’s group. He is covered from head to toe in steel and he has his face mask down with only four thin slits in it]

Lamarak: …Luckily for me this played right into my strength. My greatest defense is my quickness and my speed. With so much armor weighing them down there was no way they could even come close to catching me with those swords of theirs. [Close up of Lamarak crouched down with his daggers in his hands getting ready for combat] 

Lamarak: …The only thing left to do at that point was to throw myself into battle and kill them one by one until they were all dead. [Lamarak ducks out of the way of a Knights sword and then slides his dagger into one of the slits in his face mask]

Lamarak: …The first one died very quickly. My dagger must have gone through his eye and injected its poison right into his brain. He went down like a cupboard full of pots and pans. [The Knight falls dead at Lamaraks feet]

Lamarak: …My comrades however were not so fortunate. [Lamarak looks back and sees that all of his friends are already slaughtered]

Lamarak: …From then on it was just me against 29 of the best soldiers France had to offer. I knew that I would have to use every ounce of my quickness and skill to get through this situation alive. [Lamarak is attacking the 14 knights that just slaughtered his friends]

Lamarak: …But for some reason I didn’t have any doubts about the outcome. Despite the odds I wasn’t a bit worried. I was completely focused on my task and had complete faith in my ability to succeed. [Lamarak slides on the ground between the legs of one of the Knights who has a wide legged stance. He slides his daggers into the slits in the armor on the Knights knees]

Lamarak: …I used my special armor penetrating techniques to attack the Knights at any openings in their armor. [Lamarak comes up behind the Knights and attacks the Knight next to the one he just stabbed in the knees. He uses one of his daggers to pry open a slit in the elbow and then jabs his other dagger in there]

Lamarak: …Since their armor was so extensive there were only ten openings for me to exploit - one at the slits in the face mask, one underneath the face mask, the two joints at the knees, the two joints at the elbows, the two joints at the shoulders, and the two joints at the thighs. [Lamarak ducks as the Knight he stabbed in the elbow turns around and takes a swipe at his head then Lamarak comes up and stabs him in the chin]

Lamarak: …It would take pinpoint accuracy and blinding quickness to get past their armor but I was up to the task and there was no way these Knights were going to escape my poison blades. [Lamarak rolls away as the Knight he stabbed in the chin brings his sword down. The Knight, already feeling the effects of the poison, falls forward with the weight of his own sword. As Lamarak is rolling he stabs another Knight in his knee]

[Picture of Lamarak rolling away from all of the Knights and getting up near a tree. The Knight that he stabbed in both knees is kneeling on the ground holding his head, the Knight that he stabbed in the chin is laying on the ground on top of his sword, and the rest of the Knights are coming at Lamarak as fast as they can. It is starting to rain heavily now]

[Lamarak runs over to the nearest Knight that is still on a horse and dodges his attack as he stabs him in the knee]

Lamarak: …I decided it would be a good idea to take out all of the Knights who were still on horseback just in case they decided to run away or try to trample me. I ran from horse to horse stabbing the Knights in their knees so fast that they didn’t have time to figure out what was going on. [Lamarak ducks beneath a sword swipe to his head and stabs the Knight on horseback in his knee] 

Lamarak: I kept putting my daggers back into their holders to keep them fresh with poison from the sponges at the bottom of my holders. [Lamarak is running towards a Knight on horseback as he puts his daggers back in their holsters to re-supply them with poison]

Lamarak: …Believe it or not but it didn’t take much more than a minute for me to go around the entire circle and inject all of the Knights on horseback with my poison. The other Knights were chasing me the entire time but they couldn’t even come close to matching my incredible speed! [The remaining 11 Knights on foot are chasing Lamarak as he jumps out of the way of an attack by a Knight on horseback and shoves both daggers into his knee]

Lamarak: …It would take a few minutes for the poison to travel from their knees to their brain but soon they would all be falling like flies. Very few men on this earth can survive the effects of my deadly poison. It is my own personal mix of poisons from various snakes, spiders, and scorpions. [Lamarak is in his house poking a scorpion with a stick and making him inject a sponge with his tail]

Lamarak: …Now it was time for me to turn my attention back to the Knights who were on foot. The rain was making the ground very muddy and this made it even harder for the Knights to try and keep up with me. [Lamarak attacks a Knight on foot and gets chest to chest with him as he stabs him in the slits in his shoulder armor] 

[Picture of Lamarak chest to chest with the Knight as he slides to the ground]

[Lamarak pushes off of the Knights shins with his feet and slides through the mud as the Knight in front of him brings his sword down and a Knight right next to them brings his sword down at the same place]

[Lamarak does a backwards summersault and gets to his feet as he puts his daggers into their holsters]

[A Knight comes charging at him and Lamarak rolls to the side]

[Lamarak comes up with his right hand and stabs the Knight from the side through his face mask]

[Lamarak ducks an attack, that hit’s the Knight he just stabbed, and uses one dagger to pry open a slit in the attacking Knights thigh armor then jabs the other dagger in there]

[Lamarak finds himself surrounded by 6 Knights and runs towards one that is crouched down. The Knights on horseback are starting to fall off of their horses in the background]

[Lamarak jumps just as the crouching Knight takes a swipe at his midsection and he puts his left foot on the Knights left shoulder]

[Lamarak springs off of the Knights shoulder, dodging a swipe from the Knight next to them, and tucks his legs in as he flies out of the deadly circle he was trapped in]

[Lamarak lands on the muddy ground and does a summersault as another Knight falls off of his horse in the background]

[He comes up in attack position with a fiery look on his face]

[Lamarak runs at one of the Knights and then rolls to the side]

[He quickly rolls again and comes up right behind the Knight as he brings his daggers up towards the Knights elbows. Another Knight falls off of his horse in the background]

[Lamarak senses a Knight coming up behind him so he dives to the right and narrowly misses a sword swipe to the head]

[Lamarak slides through the mud and ends up at the foot of a Knight who immediately brings his sword down at him]

[Lamarak rolls onto his back and brings the dagger in his right hand up behind him stabbing the Knight in his knee] 

[Lamarak jumps backwards as a Knight brings his sword down trying to split his skull]

[Lamarak jumps forward onto the Knights hands, trapping them between his legs, and then shoves both daggers into the slits in his face mask. Another Knight falls off of his horse in the background]

Lamarak: …Before long they were all dead. 30 elite Knights laying at my feet with my poison running through their veins. 30 against 1 and I stood victorious! [Lamarak is surrounded by dead Knights as he gives off a mighty war cry shaking his daggers in the air]

Lamarak: After I rested for awhile I took one of their horses and eventually found my way to Basel. Unfortunately less than a thousand men from that division ever made it there alive. That is why I always dedicate this story to them, so that they may never be forgot…Hey, what the? [Lamarak looks around the camp fire and sees that everyone has fallen asleep]

Lamarak: Bunch of jealous bastards. [Close up of Lamarak muttering to himself with an angry look on his face]

Lamarak: …(Sigh)…Oh well, looks like I’ll be taking the first guard duty.   
King Arthur: Nice…(Yawn)…Story. [Lamarak talks to himself while King Arthur yawns] 

Lamarak: What are you still doing awake?  
King Arthur: I still find that story exciting to some degree. It really is a good story Lamarak. You just tell it too much. [Lamarak talking to King Arthur]

Lamarak: Thank you, I guess you’re right. Those were glorious times for me though. That campaign was my first taste of true warfare.   
King Arthur: Mine too. We were both very young back then. [Lamarak and King Arthur talking]

Lamarak: Arthur…Do you mind if I ask you a question? There is something I’ve always wanted to know about that war. [Close up of Lamarak]

King Arthur: Sure, you can ask me anything you know that. What is it?  
Lamarak: Why did you call a truce just when we were on the verge of winning? I don’t mean to sound disrespectful my King but I and a lot of other soldiers in that army put a lot of effort into winning it. It didn’t seem right to just walk away when we were so close to victory. [King Arthur and Lamarak talking]

King Arthur: You’ve never heard my explanation for that? I explained it to the Round Table…but then again you weren’t part of the Round Table back then, so I guess you would never have heard it. Well you fought hard in that war so you deserve to know the whole story. I will tell it to you now. [King Arthur talking]

King Arthur: …As you know that war came right after I had just become King. The French had refused to guard our trade routes that ran through their territory and my advisors said that they were making fools of us in front of the entire world. They told me that if I didn’t force the French to agree to our terms then it would lower us in the eyes of all of the Nations of Europe. [King Arthur surrounded by his advisors]

King Arthur: …Although I was King I was still young and impressionable and I let my advisors fill me with a hatred for France that burned day and night. I was headstrong and felt ready to conquer the world so I gathered my armies and traveled to France on a quest to force them into submission. [King Arthur is sailing out from the coast of England with thousands of troops behind him]

King Arthur: …I fought the French with everything I had. I made it a point to lead the charge in every important battle. I fought them with courage and strength and the indestructibility of Excalibur. And, with a little help from the Romans, I won every major battle fought in that war. [King Arthur is riding in front of his army made up of thousands of English and Roman soldiers. He is leading a charge right into the heart of the French forces as he holds Excalibur above his head] 

King Arthur: …I made a great name for myself during the two years that I wagged that war. Although I was often outnumbered I always managed to win, always struck at the heart of the enemies forces with my own sword. [Arthur is chopping the head off of a French General as French soldiers attack him from all sides]

King Arthur: …I became known as King Arthur “The Lionheart”. I had been King for only two years and already I was a legend throughout Europe and throughout much of the entire world. But the more battles I won the more I wondered what was the point of this war. Although I was winning battles I was still losing thousands of men and the French were losing thousands more. [King Arthur looks out on the aftermath of one of his battles and sees the thousands of dead troops lying on the bloody ground]

King Arthur: …It seemed like a pointless waste of life. With the thousands of English soldiers that had died on the battlefields of France we could have guarded our own trade routes ten times over. But by the time I lost my fire for that war it was too late to turn back. The French were attacking us at every turn and it seemed there was nothing to do but fight on. [King Arthur is in front of his army getting ready for a battle. He looks unenthusiastic and distraught]

King Arthur: …Finally, after two years of constant bloodshed, it seemed that the war would be over. The French had but 50 thousand troops left in their entire military and they were all lined up near Paris for one final stand. With the over 70 thousand troops at my disposal there was no question about how the battle would turn out. [King Arthur’s army is lined up with 40 thousand English troops and 30 thousand Romans. On the other side of the battle field are the 50 thousand French troops]

King Arthur: …I was looking forward to putting an end to the war but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the French. As I looked out at the last remnants of their once mighty army I knew that they would be crushed and that most of the soldiers would be killed. I felt a pang of remorse not only for the soldiers but for the people of France who would soon be left without an army to protect them or a even country to call their own. [Close up of King Arthur’s face as he looks out at the French army he is about to destroy]

King Arthur: It was then that I remembered the ninth rule of the Chivalric Code - “Thou shall have compassion and mercy, especially for the weak and vulnerable, even if it be thy worst enemy”. I realized that there was more to being Chivalrous than having courage and winning wars. A lot more. [Close up of Arthur talking by the fire] 

King Arthur: …So when it was time to discuss terms I made a decision right then and there, in the middle of that battlefield. I decided to request an audience with the King of France. I wanted to at least give him a chance to call off this war before his entire Kingdom was destroyed. [King Arthur is in the middle of the battle field with Lancelot and Percivale on either side of him. The French General is talking to Arthur with two of his Lieutenants next to him]

King Arthur: …They only allowed me to be accompanied by a small escort as they took me to the Kings castle. We traveled into the heart of enemy territory surrounded by an entire division of elite French Knights. [Arthur, Percivale, Lancelot, and ten English soldiers are being led toward the French castle as they are surrounded by 300 Knights]

King Arthur: …Finally I was led alone to the chamber of King Clovis I by twenty of his elite personal body guards. We sat down and talked face to face like civilized men, like Kings should talk to each other. [Arthur is sitting in a chair across from Clovis surrounded by twenty Knights]

Clovis: So what is it you wish to speak with me about? You have already destroyed most of my army. Are you here to gloat or did you come to discuss terms? [Close up of Clovis talking, looking skeptical]

King Arthur: First of all I would like to ask you a question. From one King to another tell me, why did you refuse to guard our trade routes?   
Clovis: …(Sigh)…How was I supposed to guard everyone’s trade routes when I could barely guard my own country? [Clovis and Arthur talking]

King Arthur: But you had a mighty army King Clovis. Surely you could have spared a few divisions to look after the trade route of a friendly Kingdom.  
King Clovis: My army was never as mighty as everyone thought it was. Yes we had good military strength but it still wasn’t enough to ensure our safety in this part of the world. We are under constant attack from barbarians and are surrounded by potentially dangerous enemies on all sides. [Clovis and Arthur talking]

King Arthur: Well then…why didn’t you just tell us that you couldn’t spare the men? To flatly refuse us was like spitting in our eye. Did you think we would just sit there and do nothing after being so blatantly disrespected? [Arthur talking]

King Clovis: Come now Arthur, you’re a King. Don’t you see that if I admitted that I couldn’t spare the men then it would have been as good as baring my neck to the enemy. There are enemies all around us who will jump at the first sign of weakness. This is a vicious and unforgiving world we live in right now Arthur. Especially here. Look around you. [Clovis talking]

King Clovis: Not only do we have to worry about the Romans but there are the Huns, the Vandals, the Goths, the Vikings, the Alemani, and countless other dangers out there including you! Besides, I’ll admit that I underestimated your power King Arthur. I thought that I could defeat your armies and make an example out of you. Instead I have brought the downfall of my entire Kingdom. [Clovis talking]

King Arthur: You are right King Clovis, these are very brutal times. But I do not wish to be part of that brutality. I have come here to offer you a truce. I am willing to end the war here, before your military is completely destroyed and your country is left totally defenseless. [Arthur talking]

King Clovis: Well, since you are giving my Kingdom this opportunity to live on I would have to be a fool to refuse your generosity. As long as the Romans don’t pounce on us there is still a chance that we can rebuild and survive. Thank you King Arthur. You are a great warrior and a great King. England is lucky to have you. [King Clovis talking as he shakes Arthur’s hand] 

King Arthur: …After that I had guard posts constructed all along our trade routes so that we could protect them ourselves. Then I convinced the Romans to leave the French in peace, which didn’t please them very much let me tell you. Lucius was especially frustrated by my sudden peace treaty. I suppose that was the beginning of the end of our relationship with the Romans. [King Arthur talking to Lamarak by the fire]

Lamarak: How ironic. Now the Romans are waging war against us because they think we spit in THEIR eye for refusing to help them fight the French.

King Arthur: Yes. But the Romans don’t even need our help to finish off the French. It’s mostly Lucius who is waging this war against us. He is a power hungry man and he envies me. He wants my sword and my Kingdom for himself. [King Arthur talking]

Lamarak: Still, this world is a confusing place. Kingdoms wage war with each other over the same things over and over again. In the end the difference between right and wrong seems to be whichever Kingdom you happen to be born into. [Lamarak looking contemplative]

King Arthur: All we can do Lamarak is follow certain rules and constantly strive for wisdom. And while you’re doing that you must fight for what you believe in and hope that you are fighting on the righteous side. Even a righteous man must kill his fellow man in defense of his right to live. Otherwise there would be no righteous men left in this world. [Arthur looking contemplative]

Lamarak: Well if there are any righteous men at all in this world then you are definitely one of them. It’s too bad there aren’t more leaders like you. [Lamarak talking to Arthur]

King Arthur: Thank you Lamarak. Why don’t you get some sleep. I’ll take the first guard duty tonight. [King Arthur talking as he stands up and stretches]

Lamarak: Oh good I’m dead tired. Good night Arthur. And thank you for explaining why you let those French off so easy. [Lamarak talking as he lays down to go to sleep]

King Arthur: Any time Lamarak. A good leader should always explain his motivations. Otherwise how can anyone follow his example? Now get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. [Overhead view of the dying campfire with Arthur’s Knights sleeping around it]

 

Chapter 4: Trouble at Rhoswen Forest

 

[Picture of Arthur and his men galloping through the open countryside in the afternoon sun]

Percivale: Arthur, that contingent of Irish and Scottish troops that we saw in the forest this morning...Do you think they will pose any threat to Camelot?  
Arthur: No. But if they are able to meet up with more contingents that could be hiding near the castle then Tristan and Gaheris will have one hell of a fight no their hands. All the more reason to find Merlin as quickly as possible. [Arthur and Percivale talking as they ride through the countryside]

[Picture of Arthur and his men galloping through the open countryside on their horses in the moonlight with the moon right overhead. There is a forest in the foreground]

Galahad: Should we camp out in that forest for the night?  
Arthur: No need for that, we won’t be lighting a camp fire anyways.  
Lancelot: Arthur, do you know what forest that is? [Galahad, Arthur, and Lancelot talking while they ride their horses]

Arthur: Now that you mention it that must be the Rhoswen forest. Maybe we should stop here for the night. We don’t want to be going through there at night that’s for sure.  
Galahad: What’s so bad about that forest?  
Kay: That be a forest full of crazy women my boy. Don’t want to be invading their territory, at least not with so few men. [Arthur, Galahad, and Kay talking as everyone slows down their horses]

Galahad: Crazy women? Like Amazons?  
Lancelot: Yes. We call them the Talulla. They guard their territory to the death and rob anyone who happens to pass near their forest. They’re almost as bad as the Berserkers. [Lancelot talking to Galahad as they stare at the forest]

Kay: Aye. And they hate men. It’s said that any man who gets beaten in combat by a Talulla warrior will soon lose his manhood in more ways than one if you know what I mean. They like to cut off the penises of their foes and then wear them on a belt like trophies. Worse than me ex-wife they are. [Kay talking to Galahad who has a worried look on his face]

Arthur: As long as we stay out of their territory they shouldn’t bother us. It would be too much trouble for them to try and rob 7 lone knights with nothing but their weapons and supplies. It would be a nice shortcut though if we could just cut right through the forest and not have to go all the way around it. [Arthur talking as everyone dismounts from their horses]

Lancelot: I think that would probably be more trouble than it’s worth Arthur. Even in the day we risk getting attacked every step of the way. In the end it would probably be faster and a lot easier just to go around. [Lancelot talking as he takes his bags off of his horse]

Arthur: You’re right. Let’s set camp. We’ll rest here then head out first thing in the morning. [Arthur talking as he unloads his supplies]

[Picture of Bors kicking back and tossing a peanut into his mouth as everyone else sleeps]

Bors: (Thought Bubble) Bloody hell this is boring. I hate this stupid guard duty. Didn’t think I’d have to do this bullshit any more after I became a Knight of the Round Table. [Bors flicks a raisin into the air and catches it with his mouth] 

Bors: (Thought Bubble) There’s nobody around for miles. Here I am with nothing to do and not a soul to talk… [Bors looks to his right as a peanut bounced off his cheek]

Bors: Shit! [Bors jumps up as he watches a brigade of Talulla warriors riding towards them about halfway between their camp and the woods]

Bors: Wake up! Arm yourselves damn it! They’re almost here! [Bors is yelling as he stands up and grabs his weapons.]

Talulla Warriors: Hellellellelle! Hellellellelle! Hellellelle! [The Amazonian warriors are ridding towards the knights giving off a war cry]

Kay: Thanks for the early warning yeh bloody fool! Guess we should be thankful yeh woke us up before they made off with our willies! [Kay is fumbling around for his weapons with an angry look on his face] 

Arthur: No time for putting on your armor Galahad! Just grab your sword and stay near me. [Arthur yells at Galahad as he tries to put his armor on. Everyone is grabbing their weapons and preparing for combat]

[Picture of the 25 women on horseback surrounding Arthur and his men. The women are completely naked except for a loin cloth and they are covered in war paint. They have different creatures painted on them like snakes, boars, vultures, and wolves]

Arthur: What am I going to do? I can’t fight women, it’s against the Chivalric code.   
Kay: No disrespect me king but what in Gods name are yeh going on about? These aren’t women, they’re bloody animals! You had better kill them the first chance yeh get or they’ll be wearing your balls as earrings in the morning. [Kay is talking to Arthur who has a distraught look on his face. They are surrounded by the Talulla. Some of them have bows and arrows, some have swords, and others have spears]

Talulla warrior: Put down your weapons you pitiful little boys! Unless you all want to be squashed like the slimy worms you are. My name is Danu! I am the leader of this tribe. [A woman with Eagles and Lions painted all over her steps down from her horse and approaches the men with a sword in her hand. She is big and muscular and has red hair]

Danu: I see that you are Knights. Are you from Camelot?

Arthur: Yes. I am sorry if we rested ourselves too near to your territory. We can leave if you want. I would not suggest fighting us. [Arthur walks over to confront Danu]

Danu: Shut up. Are any of you noble born?

Kay: Damn right one of us is noble born yeh overgrown wench. The man you just told to shut up be the King of England! He is MY King wench and if yeh don’t want to lose your head I suggest… [Kay is shouting at Danu]

Danu: I wasn’t talking to you TROLL! I have no interest in the likes of you.   
Arthur: Kay let me handle this. Danu, is there something we can do for you? [Arthur talking to Danu]

Danu: Every five years ten women in my tribe must be impregnated. It is unfortunate but we have no choice. We try to find the best men we can but of course, that isn’t saying much. But if you truly are the King of England then you are exactly what we are looking for. [Danu talking to Arthur]

Arthur: You want me to…impregnate you? I...  
Danu: If you refuse we will kill you all here and now. Do what we ask however and we shall let you live, even give you safe passage through our forest. [Arthur talking to Danu]

Bors: What’s the matter Arthur? Would you rather risk death than have sex with these women. Some of them aren’t so bad.  
Arthur: But…What would Guinevere think? I can’t do this to her. A Chivalrous man doesn’t cheat on his wife.   
Bors: (Sigh)…You’re right, you can’t do this. I guess I will have to take your place. I just hope Guinevere appreciates what I’m doing for her. [Bors and Arthur talking]

Danu: Ugh, don’t come near me you filth. We only want the best of your kind. It is your king or nothing. What will it be King Arthur? Eternal life within the bloodlines of my tribe or death here tonight. [Danu pushes Bors away from her as she walks up to Arthur]

Arthur: What a terrible decision you have forced me to make this night! To slaughter women or cheat on my wife, those are my only choices.  
Lancelot: Arthur I think you know what you must do. A fight with these women might be more than we could handle. None of us are in our armor, half of us are already injured, most of us don’t have all of our weapons. [Lancelot is talking to Arthur with his hand around his shoulder]

Lamarak: None of us will ever tell Guinevere, you know that don’t you? Don’t think of it as cheating on your wife, think of it as sparing the lives of some women, and maybe even some of us.   
Lancelot: Please Arthur, for my son’s sake. Galahad is in no condition to fight with people like them. They fight like Berserkers with no thought for their own safety and no fear of death. For us and for the sake of the mission, there is only one choice you can make. [Lamarak and Lancelot are consoling Arthur]

Arthur: You are right as usual Lancelot. It is the lesser of two evils. Danu, I will do as you ask of me.   
Danu: Good decision. Kellan, Brenna, take him to the camp and prepare him for the rituals. Edana, Cailin, you come with me and prepare yourselves for the impregnation. The rest of you stay here and guard this shit. [Danu barks out orders to her warriors]

Lancelot: Don’t worry about it Arthur, just remember that you are doing this for us. It isn’t cheating unless you do it for yourself.   
Bors: What a lucky bastard he is. [Arthur is being led away by one fierce looking woman with blond hair and another rather attractive woman with brown hair]

Danu: We will bring your King back when the rituals are completed. Until then don’t move or my warriors will kill you on the spot!   
Kay: Just make sure yeh don’t bring him back with too many diseases yeh wretched cunt! [Kay is yelling at Danu as she rides off with two of her warriors]

Kay: I don’t like this I tell yeh. I feel like we’re leaving our king at the mercy of these pigs.   
Lancelot: I’m sure he’ll be fine. These women are known for saying what they mean. If she says she’ll bring him back she will.   
[Kay, Lancelot, and Bors are sitting down with everyone else while the Talulla warriors watch over them] 

Percivale: Nothing we can do now but sit and wait.   
Lancelot: We might as well try to get some sleep. If these women were going to kill us they would have done it by now and we’re going to need our rest for tomorrow.  
Kay: You can go to sleep if yeh want, I don’t trust these people. I’ll be staying up and keeping an eye on me willie. [Percivale, Lancelot, and Kay talking as everyone sits there getting comfortable] 

[Picture of everyone sleeping with the Talulla watching over them as the sun begins to rise]

Danu: Hellellellellelle! Hellellellellelle! [Danu, two of her warriors, and the attractive Brenna carrying Arthur are riding towards the camp]

Bors: Is that them?  
Lancelot: It’s morning already?  
Kay: Damn I fell asleep! How could I be so careless! [Picture of everyone in the camp waking up as Kay checks to see if his willie is still there]

Lancelot: Poor Arthur, that took all night. I hope you all appreciate what he did for us.  
Bors: Yes he had to have sex with 10 women, poor fellow. When will the trials ever cease.   
Kay: If they hurt him in any way there’ll be no end to the bloodshed when I get through with this mission. [Everyone is standing up as Danu approaches with Arthur]

Danu: King Arthur fulfilled his duty well. You may have passage through our forest but only for today. Don’t think this makes us allies. [Danu talks to the men as Brenna tosses a half conscious Arthur off of her horse. He lands at Lancelots feet with a dazed look on his face]

Lancelot: Arthur are you alright? What did they do to you?  
Kay: Oh my King! You’ve been through a night of hell, forced to have sex with these dogs. You’re back here now though, back with yeh comrades. Say something me King. Please.   
Arthur: I’m…Exhausted.   
Bors: Lucky bastard! [Lancelot and Kay are kneeling at Arthur’s side as Bors looks down at him shaking his head]

Percivale: Here Arthur, drink the water. It will help bring some of your strength back.   
Danu: We will be going back to our village now. Remember, don’t dawdle in our forest. Pass right through and keep on your way. Lets go!  
Kay: Look what yeh did to me King whore. Arrr, I hope all yeh babies are bloody boys! [Percivale is kneeling at Arthur’s side pouring some water in his mouth as the Talulla start to leave and Kay yells at Danu while holding Arthur’s head up]

Lancelot: The sun is already rising Arthur. Do you want to stay here and rest for awhile? You don’t look very good.  
Arthur: No…We have to…make up time. I’ll be fine. Just get me on my horse.  
Lancelot: At least we have free passage through the forest. That should save us a couple of hours at least. [Lancelot talks to Arthur as everyone gathers around]

Bors: So, do you want to talk about it? It might do you some good to get it off your chest. It sure took a long time.  
Arthur: No Bors, never speak of this again.   
[Arthur has an arm around Bors and Kay who are helping him over to his horse]

Kay: We really need to do something about these Talulla Arthur. I know yeh don’t like to kill women but seriously, we can’t have people like this in the middle of our country. It’s bad for our reputation I tell yeh.  
Arthur: Can we talk about this some other time.  
Kay: Of course my King. I was just mentioning it. [Lancelot leads the way as the knights enter the Rhoswen forest. Arthur is laying on his horse as Kay holds its reins, directing it where to go]

 

Chapter 5: The Story of Kay

 

Caption: Day 4 [Picture of the map of England with a dotted line showing the Knight’s trek from Camelot to Stonehenge to the River Thames past Mt. Thames then up through the Rhoswen forest and up through the middle of England all the way near the top of England’s border with Scotland]

[Picture of Arthur and his men riding along with the sun rising as they come across some ruins of an old castle. All that is left of the castle is the foundation and a few scattered stones here and there]

Lancelot: Arthur, do you know what this is?  
Arthur: Looks like the ruins of castle Cree.   
Lancelot: Let us stop here for a moment. I want to tell you the story behind these ruins. [Arthur and Lancelot talking as they pass through the ruins]

Arthur: Make it a quick story. I want to make it to the Grampian Range by sundown.   
Lancelot: It will only take a minute. [Arthur talking to Lancelot as they dismount their horses and the rest of the men come to a stop]

Lancelot: This used to be the castle Cree lead by King Erral, back in the days when this country was full of Kings. It was a hundred years ago that this sturdy castle was destroyed. Does anyone know how it was so utterly demolished? [Lancelot is giving some water to his horse as the men all dismount their horses and head over towards him]

Percivale: The legends say that it was destroyed by a tidal wave. The biggest tidal wave anyone has ever seen.  
Lancelot: That’s right. But how could a tidal wave destroy a castle that is over 10 miles inland? How could a tidal wave hit this castle with such accuracy and force? [Lancelot talking to the men as they look around at the remnants of the castle]

Arthur: You’re saying that this castle was destroyed by a wizard.   
Lancelot: Yes, a WIZARD! Legend has it that right around the time of the wizard wars one of the wizards sent a tidal wave over a MILE HIGH, 10 MILES across land and wiped this castle out in an instant! [Lancelot and Arthur talking]

Lancelot: Imagine Camelot being wiped out in an instant. Although this castle wasn’t as big or as powerful as castle Camelot it was still a strong, sturdy castle. You can tell by the foundation that it was as strong as most castles and yet it was wiped out in seconds. If an unknown wizard could do this to a castle think of what the legendary Merlin can do! [Lancelot talking as he looks out over the ruins]

Bors: This place gives me the creeps. It’s covered in locusts.   
Percivale: Thousands of people died the day this castle was destroyed and they never knew what hit them. Some say that this is the most haunted place on earth. A place where thousands of souls wander around trying to figure out where their castle went. [Bors is poking at locusts with his sword as Percivale gazes out on the ruins]

Arthur: Well, if Merlin can do something like this then he can certainly wipe out a Roman Army. But first we have to find him. Come on everyone, there’s no time to rest any more. I’m sure the Roman army is already at our shores by now and if we don’t get home fast then it will look like this when we get back. [Arthur talking as he mounts his horse]

Bors: I’m right behind you Arthur. I don’t like this place at all.   
Kay: I agree with Bors for once. This be no place for the living.   
Lancelot: Once we find Merlin the Roman camp won’t be a place for the living either! [The men all mount their horses and follow after Arthur]

Arthur: How close are we to Hadrians wall Lancelot?   
Lancelot: Well, my castle is about 20 miles due east so we shouldn’t be more than 20 miles to the wall at this point I would think. [Arthur and Lancelot talking as the Knights ride through the countryside with the sun directly overhead]

Arthur: I’d like to avoid the northern front if at all possible. What would be the best route to take from here?  
Lancelot: If we ride west for a few hours we should be far enough from the battle zone when we continue north to avoid it completely. Of course we might run into some Scottish scouting troops up there but we shouldn’t be near the front lines. [Arthur talking to Lancelot]

Arthur: We’ll ride west then until about 3 in the afternoon. We’re changing directions everyone! [Arthur points his men in a different direction] 

Percivale: Arthur, up ahead. I think we’ve run in to the land of a Thousand Storms.   
Arthur: Are you sure?  
Percivale: No, it could just be a normal storm but there is definitely something happening down there. And we are in the vicinity of that place aren’t we? [Percivale talking to Arthur as they gallop through the countryside]

Lancelot: He’s probably right Arthur, it is around here.   
Arthur: Alright. We’ll change course then, head northwest until we get there. Maybe we’ll get lucky and brush past the top of it. [Arthur leads his men slightly more to the north as they head toward a lone stretch of storm clouds in an otherwise clear and sunny sky]

Arthur: How large is this place?  
Lancelot: It’s only about 3 square miles.   
Arthur: Do you think we’re far enough west now to start heading north?  
Lancelot: We should be.  
Arthur: Good. Alright no time for sightseeing men. Let’s move out. [Arthur and Lancelot are talking as they look at a stretch of land in front of them that is ravaged with storms even though the rest of the land is sunny and peaceful. All of a sudden there is just a wall of rain and darkness and constant thunder and lightning]

Galahad: Are there really a thousand storms in there?  
Lancelot: It’s impossible to tell how many storms are in there but there is definitely more than one raging at the same time. It is said that as soon as you enter that place you are struck by multiple bolts of lightening and killed instantly. Anyone who has ever ventured in there has never come back alive. [Galahad and Lancelot talking as they ride past the land of a Thousand Storms]

Galahad: Do you think this was caused by the wizards?  
Lancelot: Nobody really knows for certain but many people believe that this place didn’t exist until about a hundred years ago. That leads me to believe that yes, the wizards must have had something to do with it. [Galahad and Lancelot talking as they ride past the storms] 

Arthur: Hadrian’s wall. We’re finally here. Percivale you head east and look for an opening. Lamarak, head west. The rest of us will rest here until you find an opening big enough for a horse.   
Percivale: Yes sire.  
Lamarak: You got it. [Arthur gives orders as he dismounts his horse at the base of a 20 foot high wall that stretches for miles in each direction. The sun is now beginning to set behind some mountains]

[Picture of Arthur and his Knights riding through a hole in the wall as they enter Scotland]

Arthur: Kay, how far is it to the Grampian Range from here?  
Kay: Aye, I don’t remember Arthur. Sorry but it’s been a while since I been here you know.   
Arthur: No matter. We’ll know it when we see it. [Arthur and Kay talking as they gallop through a Scottish forest]

Percivale: There’s a village up ahead Arthur. Pretty big by the looks of it.  
Lancelot: Should we go around?  
Arthur: No time. [Percivale, Lancelot, and Arthur talking as they gallop through the Scottish countryside]

Lancelot: What if we get attacked? It could hold us up.  
Arthur: We don’t have time to fight anyone, especially not civilians. If we get attacked then we’ll just run away. We can pick up our pace once we hit the outskirts of the village and speed through there. [Arthur and Lancelot talking]

Kay: Run away? Arthur, no need to run away from the likes of these people. Send me in first and I’ll cut a path right though the bleedin bastards!  
Arthur: No Kay! Just follow me and follow my lead! [Kay and Arthur talking]

Kay: Arg, forced to run from some lowly Scottish nobodies. This be no way for a Knight of the Round table to conduct himself.  
Arthur: Give it up Kay! [Kay and Arthur talking]

Galahad: Father, why does Kay always seem to hate the Scottish so much? I thought he was Scottish.   
Lancelot: He is Scottish, born and raised in the Highlands. He doesn’t consider himself to be Scottish any more though. In his mind he became English as soon as he entered this country. [Galahad and Lancelot talking]

Lancelot: …You see when he was about 10 years old Kay’s family was killed in a dispute over a single sheep. It had been a rough winter in the Highlands that year and most of the livestock in the region froze to death. Kay’s father only managed to save one sheep by letting it live inside the house with the family. [Picture of a young Kay looking out of the window of his home at the frozen landscape as a big sheep stands near him]

Lancelot: …After the snow thawed there was no way to keep the meat from all of those dead animals fresh and by the end of spring it had all gone bad. By fall of that year people were beginning to starve to death and it became every man for himself in a desperate struggle to survive. [Picture of some Highlanders grabbing their stomachs as they eat roots and berries] 

Lancelot: …Kay’s father had planned on slaughtering the sheep right before winter set in so that they would have some food supplies to hold them until the next spring. Kay’s neighbors begged his father to share the meat with them once he had slaughtered it but he refused. He said that it would barely last his family for the entire winter and there wasn’t enough to share with anyone else. [Kay’s father talking to the neighbors who are pleading with him on their hands and knees]

Lancelot: …According to Kay, his father was the biggest and toughest man in the Highlands and Kay had two older brothers who were also very strong and handy with a sword so nobody could stand up to their family alone. The neighbors were desperate though and they formed an alliance against Kay’s family in order to take his sheep and share it evenly between them. [A group of 10 Highlander adults and 7 teenagers are gathered around a fire talking angrily] 

Lancelot: …In October of that year four different families from the area all attacked Kay’s family. Since Kay was the youngest in the family he wasn’t allowed to fight but he saw the whole scene from his house where he was told to guard the sheep. [A 10 year old Kay is standing in front of his hut in the rain holding a sharpened stick as he watches 17 Highlanders attack his Father, Mother, and two brothers. His 7 foot tall father has a large battle axe, his 6 foot tall brawny mother has an axe in each hand, and his 6 foot tall brothers both have two handed swords]

Lancelot: …The way Kay tells it, even though his family was outnumbered 17 to 4 they almost won and were able to kill off 10 of the attackers before they were all slaughtered. [Picture of a fierce battle as Kay’s father chops a Highlander in half at the waist with his mighty axe, Kay’s mother chops someone’s head off with her two axes as she gets stabbed in the back, one brother blocks a sword attack from above as he kicks the attackers leg and breaks it at the knee, and the other brother lays on the ground dying but manages to stab a man in the stomach with his last breath]

Lancelot: It’s a sore subject for Kay but he admitted that as the remaining 7 Highlanders approached his house Kay got scared and ran. To this day he feels ashamed that he lost his nerve and ran for his life instead of guarding the sheep like he was supposed to. [Picture of Kay running away as the 7 remaining blood soaked Highlanders walk towards his house]

Lancelot: …The neighbors took his sheep and their dead and left his family lying there in a pool of blood. When Kay went back home he had no idea what to do or where to go. All he had was an empty house, some nuts and berries to last him a couple of weeks, and four dead family members lying in the front yard. [Kay is looking in secret hiding places in his house for food that his family had hidden]

Lancelot: …Kay said he never did cry about what happened. He said the only thing it ever made him feel was anger and bitterness. He stayed at his home for a few days and buried his family near the house. The neighbors took all of the families weapons and tools so Kay had to dig the graves with a stick and his bare hands. [Kay is digging a hole next to two grave sites where he has already buried two of his family members]

Lancelot: …After he was done burying his family Kay took his provisions and his sharpened stick and wandered around the Highlands for a few months. Even though he was only 10 years old he was already almost 6 feet tall and nobody who saw him ever thought of him as a child. Kay says that they just saw him as a threat because of the murderous look in his eyes. [An angry looking 10 year old Kay is walking past a Highlander house staring at the family who looks at him defensively] 

Lancelot: …The winter that year wasn’t as bad as it had been the previous two years but it was still cold, food was still scarce and Kay had no shelter to shield him from the cold. After several weeks of wandering around and sleeping outside in the snow Kay decided to leave the Highlands and find someplace else to live. [Kay is curled up next to a tree in the snow sleeping in the forest]

Lancelot: …He eventually made his way down from the Highlands and into the Lowlands of Scotland where it wasn’t as cold, food wasn’t as scarce, and there was more civilization. [Kay still has his sharpened stick as he walks out of the snowy hills toward the green lowland countryside where there is a town in the distance]

Lancelot: …Kay traveled around the Lowlands by himself until he came to Edinburgh and was quickly recruited by a gang of young homeless ruffians such as himself. The boys in his gang all used knives and daggers as their weapons of choice but Kay insisted on using nothing but his sharpened stick. He said that he had promised himself that he would someday draw blood with that spear to vindicate his cowardice in front of his house that day his family died. [Kay is walking around with his gang still holding the sharpened stick that he had when he was supposed to guard the sheep]

Lancelot: …At the tender young age of 11 Kay ended up killing a man with that spear and became a fugitive all throughout Edinburgh. He was forced to flee from his gang and spent the next couple of months on the run from a militia that was trying to catch him and bring him to justice. [Kay is hiding in an alley way as a group of men with hatchets and knives go running past]

Lancelot: …He traveled throughout Scotland on the run causing trouble wherever he went. By his 12th birthday he was wanted throughout the entire country and there was already a price on his head. [Kay is running from a group of militia holding a stolen jacket in one hand and his blood stained spear in the other]

Lancelot: …Eventually he was chased out of Scotland and fled down into England where he traveled the countryside as a thief and a hooligan. That is when he met Arthur. They were both 12 years old at the time and they both had a fondness for battle, although for different reasons. They met at a jousting tournament where the children all had to sit in a certain section. [Arthur is sitting in the first row watching two people ride at each other with jousting sticks. Kay is a few rows behind him with a surly look on his face]

Lancelot: …Apparently even back then Arthur was quite the chivalrous lad and when he saw Kay kick someone out of their seat a few seats down from him he stood up for the poor boy who was obviously incapable of defending himself. [Arthur is standing up yelling at Kay who is two seats to his right picking up some child and throwing him on the ground] 

Lancelot: …Although they were the same age Arthur was only half the size of Kay and Kay was impressed when Arthur challenged him to a fist fight. He thought it was funny that this little boy was going to challenge him to a fight but he agreed to Arthur’s challenge because he wanted to shut him up. Kay never thought in a million years that Arthur would be a match for him. [Arthur and Kay are making their way out of the stands as Kay laughs and Arthur has an angry and determined look on his face]

Lancelot: …Half of the children in the stands turned their attention from the jousting tournament to the fight that was about to take place in an open area behind the stands. Kay found Arthur to be very odd as he babbled off a list of rules to govern their fight. Kay had never fought with rules and thought that it was a stupid and useless gesture on Arthur’s part. [Kay and Arthur are standing behind the stands as Arthur uses his fingers to count off the rules of combat] 

Lancelot: …By the 5th rule Kay grew weary with Arthur and decided to knock him out with one punch. Before Arthur could get done telling Kay the rules he walked over to him and took a swing at Arthur’s face. Little did he know that Arthur had been trained in different forms of soldierly combat and this would be no easy fight for him to win. [Kay is taking a swing at Arthur who ducks down and comes up with a right hook towards Kay’s chin] 

Lancelot: …They fought together for about 10 minutes. Kay would take wild swings at Arthur and miss completely while Arthur would hit Kay with everything he had, which seemed to have no effect on him at all. It seemed as though they were caught in a stalemate until Arthur managed to trip Kay and caused him to fall flat on his face hitting his head against a rock. [Kay is lunging at Arthur as he ducks down and puts his foot out causing Kay to fall head first to the ground]

Lancelot: …The children all cheered for Arthur as he beat the bully at his own game. That is when Kay went into a rage and ran off to find a weapon. Arthur was on his way back to the stands when Kay came at him with his blood stained spear. [Arthur has a shocked look on his face as Kay comes barreling at him with his spear]

Arthur: You have no honor or chivalry in you at all do you? What kind of person are you?  
Kay: I’m a killer yeh stupid little English sisseh! Yeh should have known who yeh be dealing with before yeh messed with me. Me name is Kay and I’m wanted all throughout Scotland for me crimes. [Arthur is standing his ground as Kay yells at him shaking his spear]

Arthur: You’re just a boy, what crimes could you possibly have committed already?  
Kay: Yeh don’t know anything about meh yeh fool! I’m no child I assure yeh. I seen me family killed in front a me eyes two years ago and I been on me own ever since! I stopped bein a child that day and unless yeh want to have a real fight with a real man I suggest yeh run away now! [12 year old Kay yelling at 12 year old Arthur]

Arthur: I know what it’s like to lose your family. My parents died when I was only 5 and I’ve been on MY own ever since! But I didn’t become an ogre like you. Instead I try to be a better person so that I can make friends and create a new family for myself.   
Kay: Yeh lie boy. [Arthur yells at Kay now who has lost some of his fire and is merely simmering in his hatred right now]

Arthur: I don’t lie Kay. My name is Arthur and I never lie, cheat, steal, or do ANYTHING that goes against my code of honor! Now if you’re going to attack me with that stick of yours then please allow me to get my own weapon so we can fight like real men on even ground. Otherwise my friends will all come to my aid and cut you down like the animal that you are. [Arthur talking to Kay with clenched fists and a determination in his eyes]

Arthur: These are some of my new friends, my new family. They are fully grown Knights, not children like the people you usually fight with. You can’t boss them around or call them names and expect to get away with it. They can kill you as easily as they can kill any other child. [Arthur points behind him to a 40 year old man with a beard and a sword in his hand and a 26 year old Lancelot who has a flail in one hand and a crossbow pointed at Kay in the other]

Young Lancelot: Believe what he tells you boy. Arthur never lies. If you take one step towards him with that spear it will be the last thing you ever do.   
Arthur: That’s my friend, Lancelot, one of the greatest Knights in the entire country. Do not test him, he means what he says. [Lancelot and Arthur are on either side of Kay talking to him]

Kay: Bah, tha be a dirteh treck boy, surroundin meh when I wasn lookin. I guess I got no choice then now do I? Yeh’ve bested meh twice today Artheh. Yeh’ve really pissed meh off but I got ta admit, I have respect for yeh. [Kay sticks his spear in the ground as he surrenders to Arthur]

Lancelot: That was 14 years ago. After that Kay went to live with Arthur at an orphanage near Camelot. They eventually became best friends and have been close ever since. Kay loves Arthur like a brother and is as loyal to him as any man can be. He can be boorish at times but he’s a good man to have on your side. [Lancelot talking to Galahad as they approach the Scottish town]

Galahad: I never knew Kay had such a tough childhood.  
Lancelot: Arthur and I are the only one’s who know his story. He’s touchy about his past so I wouldn’t mention it to him.   
Galahad: I won’t. [Galahad and Lancelot talking]

Arthur: Alright men, time to pick up the pace! Stay behind me and don’t engage any enemies. [Arthur whips his horses reins and starts going faster as everyone follows suit]

Peasant: English soldiers! Arm yehselves. [Picture of Arthur and his men speeding through the village as peasants all look up from what they’re doing] 

Kay: Bah!!! Arthur let me just kill a couple of them, please. To teach them not to throw things at Knights of the Round Table.   
Arthur: No Kay! Stay near me or you’ll be left behind.  
Kay: Bloody hell! This is so demeaning. [Kay is talking to Arthur as they speed through the village while peasants throw rocks and pitch forks at them]

[Picture of the Knights riding quickly out of the village as the peasants chase them on foot with pitch forks and axes]

 

Chapter 6: The Pig-Headed Highlander

 

[Picture of Arthur and his Knights riding towards the Grampian Range with nothing but the moonlight to see by]

Lancelot: Arthur, we had better rest here for the night before we travel up into the Range. I’m not sure if our horses would make it after riding so hard all day.  
Arthur: Yes, they seem to be waning. We’ll stop for a few hours here to rest the horses then tackle these mountains at the first sign of daylight. It will be 5 days tomorrow since we set out from Camelot. I wanted to be on the way back by now. [Lancelot talking to a distressed Arthur]

Lancelot: Well, if we’re lucky we will find Merlin tomorrow and be headed back by tomorrow night. I figure it should only take three days to make it back if we don’t run into any trouble. We still have at least a week to make it to Camelot. With an army of 100 thousand men it will take the Romans that long to get themselves situated before they can start attacking us. [Lancelot talking as he unloads his horse]

Arthur: Yes, we’ll make it in time. [Arthur talking as he unloads his horse]

[Picture of the Knights getting ready to head out in the early morning twilight]

Kay: So how are we goin to find Merlin me King? The Highlands are a big place to search and he could be anywhere. If he’s here or even exists that is.  
Arthur: He’s here Kay. I can sense it. I’m not worried about finding him, I’m just worried about finding him quickly. The Romans are probably already setting up camp on our shores and they could attack Camelot in a matter of days. [Kay and Arthur talking as they ride slowly up the steep slopes of the Grampian Range] 

Arthur: How far do you think it will be to the northern shores after we get over these mountains?  
Kay: I don’t know, ten or twenty miles. So how do yeh plan on finding him?  
Arthur: I don’t know. I figure we can interrogate some people and see if anyone knows where he is. Otherwise this could be a very long search. [Arthur talks to Kay]

[Picture of Arthur and his Knights riding down the mountain towards the Highlands]

Lancelot: So these are the Highlands. It’s actually quite beautiful here.   
Kay: Bah, nothin but hills and rocks everywhere yeh go. I think it’s ugly.  
Arthur: We’ll rest here for a moment then begin our search. [The Knights are at the base of the mountains looking out at a picturesque landscape with a lake surrounded by grassy hills everywhere]

Lamarak: There’s some people coming down from the hills over there. Maybe they know something.  
Percivale: Be careful. They look like Highlanders. [Lamarak and Percivale talking as Kay’s head jerks up]

Arthur: How can you tell they’re Highlanders?  
Percivale: They’re big and they’re carrying weapons. Swords and Axes it looks like. Looks like there’s only seven of them. Hopefully they aren’t part of a Brigade. I don’t think we could handle an entire Brigade of Highlanders. [Arthur is talking to Percivale who has his hand over his eyes and is peering off into the distance. In the background Kay is angrily preparing his armor for a battle as he walks towards his horse]

Arthur: Men, get ready for a fight! We’re going to take down those Highlanders over there but I want at least two of them alive. Remember that Kay, I want two of... [Arthur is talking when he suddenly gets distracted and looks to his right]

Arthur: KAY! Wait for us damn it!   
Lamarak: What got into him?  
Bors: I’ve never seen him so pissed off before. And that’s saying something! [Arthur yells at Kay as he rides full speed toward the Highlanders in the distance]

Arthur: Hurry up men! We have to help Kay and keep him from killing them all off.  
Bors: I'm more worried about the Highlanders than I am for Kay. He had murder in his eyes when he took off. [Arthur shouts orders as he mounts his horse and quickly heads after Kay]

[Picture of Arthur and his men riding their horses about a hundred feet behind Kay who is barreling toward the Highlanders, who are on foot, at full speed] 

Kay: Die!!!! [Kay charges into the group of 7 Highlanders with his sword at the ready and a murderous look on his face] 

[Picture of one of the Highlanders chopping a leg out from under Kay’s horse. Kay goes flying but still has the murderous look on his face]

[Kay flies right into a Highlander and tackles him to the ground as he shoves his sword completely through his face to the other side of his head]

[Kay is laying there on top of the Highlander with his sword completely buried in the mans face up to the hilt pinning his head to the ground. Another Highlander who was standing near them brings his axe down as Kay rolls out of the way. The mans axe goes right through his comrades shoulder and into the ground]

[Kay smashes in the attackers knee with his shield causing the mans leg to go inside out]

[The man with the broken leg falls to the ground as he tries to hit Kay with his axe. Kay holds the mans hands with his free hand and uses his shield to smash the Highlanders face in]

Kay: Yeh killed me bloody horse yeh God damn, shit faced, cocksucking, sheep fucking BASTARDS!!! [Kay charges into the group of 5 remaining Highlanders in a rage]

Highlander: Who the hell ah yeh? Weh’ll gut yeh lak a fesh weh wehll!  
Kay: Yeh’ll die like a dog yeh Highland piece of crap! [Kay blocks a sword attack with his shield and then drives his axe completely through one of their heads all the way down to the chest]

Kay: Bahhhhh!!! I’ll kill yeh all! [Kay blocks an axe attack from above with his shield but one of the Highlanders brings his sword down on Kay’s reinforced shoulder armor on his right side cutting through the armor and down into Kay’s shoulder]

[All of a sudden Arthur rides by on his horse and cuts the head off of the Highlander who has his sword in Kay’s shoulder]

[Kay throws his axe at a Highlander in the rear who his fighting off Lancelot and hits him in the back sending him right into Lancelots sword]

[Kay pulls the Highlanders sword out of his shoulder as he blocks an axe attack aimed at his legs with his shield]

Kay: Now die yeh lousy piece of garbage! [Kay shoves his sword into the attacking Highlanders stomach all the way up to the hilt then smacks him in the face with his shield knocking him backwards]

Highlander: Aaarghh!!!! [The Highlander falls backwards onto the ground and Kay immediately chops off his arm that is holding the axe]

Kay: Now yeh get to die Highlander.   
Arthur: No Kay! Stop right there I say! [Kay cocks back his sword for a finishing blow as Arthur yells at him from the right]

Arthur: Ahhh!!!   
Kay: Wha… [Kay brings his sword down full force towards the Highlander but Arthur dives on top of the Highlander and Kay ends up cutting through Arthur’s armor and halfway through his back]

Arthur: DAMNIT KAY! Get your damn sword out of my back.  
Kay: Arthur! I’m sorry me King. But why did you jump in front of me blade? I was trying to kill that lousy bastard and do this world a favor. [Kay pulls his sword out of Arthur’s back as Arthur glares up at him]

Arthur: I told you we needed two of them alive. Now all we have is this one and he’ll be dead soon. Go over there and calm yourself down!  
Kay: Sorry Arthur. I guess I got a little carried away with meself. [Arthur yells at Kay as Kay hangs his head and walks away from the downed Highlander who is on the ground holding his stomach with his remaining arm and coughing up blood as he glares angrily up at Arthur]

Highlander: Wha are yeh wehing for yeh stuped English bastard. Kill meh and beh done weth it.   
Arthur: Bors, Lancelot, drag him over there and prop him up against that hill. Try to stop his bleeding. [Arthur points to a nearby hill as he walks off and gives orders to his men]

Highlander: Wha are yeh tryin ta do now get meh to tell yeh our battle plans ah somethin? Yeh stuped English sissehs, with yeh armor and yeh horsehs. I’m alreadeh dyin cant yeh see? Torture meh all yeh like yeh’ll neveh git meh ta talk. [Bors and Lancelot drag the Highlander to a nearby hill and lay him down against it]

Highlander: I would tell yeh ta go fuck yeh motheh but I am a wee bit thirsteh. [Bors and Lancelot are using the other Highlanders shirts to stop the Highlander from bleeding as Arthur comes over with some water and gives it to the Highlander to drink] 

Arthur: I’m not a vindictive man Highlander. I don’t like to see people suffer and I take no joy in hurting a fallen enemy. But I need information and I will do whatever I have to in order to get it.   
Highlander: Go ta hell yeh prick. [Arthur is standing over the Highlander who is staring up at him in defiance]

Arthur: I need to know if you have ever heard of a man named Merlin. He is a wizard and we know he lives somewhere around the Highlands. Tell us where he lives and we will give you a quick death. That’s all we need to know. Where is Merlin.  
Highlander: Neveh heard of him. Now go ta hell and let meh die in peace.   
Kay: He’s lyin! Yeh know exactly where he is don’t yeh? [Arthur is talking to the Highlander as Kay comes up behind him and starts yelling at him]

Arthur: Get back Kay! I’ll handle this.   
Kay: I know these people Arthur. I can tell the man is lyin. Let me brake some of his bloody bones. I’ll get him to talk.   
Arthur: I’ll handle this I said. [Arthur scolds Kay as he backs off]

Highlander: Aaarrghhh!!!  
Arthur: I’m sorry but I must do this. It can all end if you just tell us where Merlin is. [The Highlander is screaming in pain as Bors stomps on his balls]

Highlander: Heh, I don’t need me balls anehways dummeh. I can tell this hurts yeh worse then it hurts meh.   
Arthur: I can keep this up all day if I have to. How long do you think YOU can hold out?  
Highlander: Till yeh motheh sucks me big fat willeh yeh lousy English bastahd. [The Highlander is laughing as Arthur stands over him] 

Highlander: Aargh! Heh, yeh can do what yeh want, ets all en vain. [Arthur hits the Highlander with the handle of his sword right in the stump of his arm as the Highlander laughs it off]

Highlander: …(Cough)…Whas the mattah yeh sisseh? Yeh given up already? I still got a couple more bones yeh can brake if yeh want to. Heh, heh…(Cough) [The Highlander is laughing as he coughs up blood. He has one eye gouged out, he has burn marks in the shape of a sword on his face and body, his legs and arm are broken, and his hair has been pulled out by the roots. Arthur is walking away looking frustrated and dismayed as Lancelot looks on]

Arthur: Damn it! We’ve wasted almost an hour torturing this son of a bitch and he’s showing no signs of breaking! He’ll be dead soon and we’ve got no way to get the information out of him.   
Kay: Yeh can’t get information out of a bloody Highlander by torturing them. They’re too defiant and stupid. I think I might know a way that we could get him to talk though. [Arthur is walking over to where the rest of the men are resting. Kay is sitting there happily eating his nuts and berries as he watches the torture]

Arthur: How?   
Kay: Threaten to take his body back to England. Highlanders love their country more than anything, they think they be so superior cause they live up here in the stupid Highlands or somethin. A Highlanders greatest fear is to not be buried in his native land. That’s how yeh get a Highlander ta talk. [Kay leans in to whisper to Arthur]

Arthur: I suppose you just now thought of this huh Kay? You couldn’t have told me this an hour ago before we wasted all of this time torturing the man?  
Kay: Ah I figured we could use the rest.   
Arthur: You and I need to have a long talk when all of this is done Kay. You still have a lot to learn about Chivalry. [An irritated and disappointed looking Arthur glares at Kay as he shrugs and tries to look innocent]

Arthur: Forget it Lancelot, this bastard will never tell us what we want to know.   
Lancelot: We can’t give up now Arthur!   
Highlander: Heh, finally realizing the obvious are yeh? …(Cough) I told yeh I would neveh tell yeh anythin. Now get the hell out a here an let meh die in peace. [Arthur is walking over to Lancelot and the Highlander as he winks at Lancelot]

Arthur: Come on, we might as well go back to England now. We’ll take some of these Highlanders with us as proof that we tried.   
Highlander: Yeh not takin MEH are yeh? [Arthur is talking to a confused Lancelot as the Highlander gets alarmed]

Arthur: Of course we’re taking you. I want them to see how much we tortured you, how hard we tried to get the information. In fact, I think all we need is this one.   
Highlander: Well what are yeh goin ta do with meh body when yeh get there? …(Cough)…  
Arthur: I don’t know, probably just throw you in the garbage pits or something. What’s the difference, you’ll be dead anyways. [Arthur talking to the increasingly frightened Highlander]

Highlander: I don’t want ta beh buried in yeh stupid countreh Englishman! Leave meh here and let meh die in peace damn yeh!   
Arthur: I’m sorry but I can’t do that. I need you as proof that I tried my hardest to accomplish my mission. [Arthur talking to the Highlander who looks like he is about to cry]

Highlander: …(Cough)…Damn it Englishman. Well wha if I help yeh accomplish yeh stupid mission. Will yeh leave meh here an let meh die in peace?  
Arthur: Of course, we won’t have any need for you then. So you know where Merlin lives?   
Highlander: A course I know where he lives. All Highlanders know about the mighteh Merlin. …(Cough)…An he won be pleased when he see’s what yeh did ta meh. [Arthur talking to the defeated Highlander] 

Arthur: I’ll worry about that. You just take us to his home. Where is it?  
Highlander: Ets about fefteen miles from here, near the ocean. He lives in a big wooden house, yeh can’t miss et. Ets the only one of ets kind in all the Highlands.   
Arthur: Great. Come on men we’re heading out! Here, drink this water, it will keep you alive longer. You wouldn’t want to die before we accomplish our mission would you? [Arthur starts barking out orders as he offers the Highlander some water]

Arthur: You’re coming with me. Show me the quickest way to get there or I’ll throw you in the ocean when we arrive.   
Highlander: Aye, yeh such a lousy English bastard aren’t yeh? [Arthur is carrying the Highlander over his shoulder as his men mount their horses]

Kay: Bah, this is bloody embarrassing.   
Lamarak: It’s your fault for getting your horse killed Kay.   
Arthur: Next stop is Merlin’s house!!!  
Knights: Woohoo!!! [Arthur is riding off with the broken down Highlander across his lap. The rest of the Knights are behind him with Kay riding piggyback on Lamarak’s horse. They have their fists in the air in celebration as the sun shines down on them from directly overhead]

 

Chapter 7: Legends Meet

 

[Picture of Arthur and his men riding toward a big three story wooden house on a hill with the ocean in the background]

Highlander: That’s the place. Now can yeh…leave meh be? I don have much longer ta live and I don’t wan to be lookin at yeh lousy face when I die.   
Arthur: Yes, you fulfilled your part of the bargain.   
[Arthur talking to the Highlander as he pulls him off of his horse]

Arthur: Kay! Come here and take this man over to that hill over there. Prop his head up so that he can see the ocean as he dies.   
Kay: Then do I get ta kill him?   
Arthur: No. Just do what I tell you. [Arthur hands the Highlander over to Kay who looks disgusted]

Kay: Yeh lucky me King is such a forgiving man Highlander. If it were up to me you’d still be getting tortured ta death.   
Highlander: Yeh a vindictive bastard aren’t yeh. Yeh have a Scottish accent though…why yeh working weth the English?   
Kay: I used to live here a long long time ago. I went to a better place, with better people. [Kay talking to the Highlander as he carries him over to a nearby hill]

Highlander: Yeh left the Highlands! Ta be an Englishman? Yeh must not be right in the head boy! Who the hell are yeh?  
Kay: Me name is Kay. I be a Knight of the Round Table and a personal friend of King Arthur. [Kay talking to the Highlander as he drops him on the hill]

Kay: I left this place alone and bitter. Now I come back with me new family. And now I vindicated meself against yeh worthless, no good Highlanders! Now lay there and die yeh pitiful prick. [Kay talks to the Highlander with a far off look in his eyes as he puts a rock under the Highlanders head] 

Highlander: Thes es a beautiful countreh yeh bloody fool. The greatest place on earth.   
Kay: It’s a piece of crap and so are you. When yeh get to hell tell yeh worthless friends who killed them. It was me, Kay. Kay of the Orkney clan. [Kay is talking to the Highlander, who is looking peacefully out at the rolling hills and the ocean] 

Fial: Jus who a yeh? Yeh look like Englishmen ta meh. Go away, yeh kind isn welcome here.   
Arthur: We’re here to see Merlin. Tell him Arthur, King of England, is here to beg of him a favor. [Arthur and his men are standing at Merlin’s front door talking to his Highlander servant]

Fial: Pffhh! Wait here but don get yeh hopes up. Like I said, yeh English aren welcome aroun here. King or not.  
Kay: Bah! The bloody wizard es in with the damn Highlanders! We come all this way fer nothin!  
Arthur: Merlin is a wise man. He will listen to reason. [The servant leaves as Kay and Arthur talk]

Fial: …(Sigh)…The mighteh Merlin says yeh can meet weth him. But get out a line and he’ll turn yeh all inta cabage and stomp yeh inta the earth.  
Arthur: Come on men. And don’t get out of line.  
Fial: Follow meh. [Fial leads the Knights into the house]

Bors: Wow this is a nice house. I kind of pictured him living in a shack.   
Lancelot: A man lives for over 200 years he’s bound to collect some nice things. [The Knights are being led up a staircase that is lined with red silk. On the floor in the entry room there is a big Persian rug on the floor. On the walls are paintings of Italy, France, China, Africa, and the Middle East. It is luxurious and decadent]

Fial: Here yeh are. Remember now, don piss the man off.   
Merlin: Thank you Fial, you can wait outside. Sorry about my servant, he hates the English.  
[Merlin is sitting in a throne-like chair that is made out of solid gold and covered in silks. He has on a white undershirt and pants and has a blue cloak on. He looks very underdressed for the room he is sitting in. there are golden statues of different wizards in all four corners of the room and there are two golden bookcases filled with ancient looking books on each wall on either side of the windows and the doorway]

Arthur: Thank you for seeing us Merlin. We are in great need of your help.   
Kay: Interesting company yeh choose ta keep.   
Arthur: Kay! [Arthur is bowing before Merlin’s throne and shooting a dirty look at Kay as he talks behind him] 

Merlin: Heh, the same can be said for Arthur.  
Kay: Huh?  
Arthur: Don’t talk anymore Kay. Sorry about Kay, he tends to be boisterous and unmanageable at times.   
Merlin: No need to apologize, I quite enjoy the Highlanders. Why do you think I choose to live among them. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Kay: No offense wizard but I am not a bloody Highlander. How can yeh possibly like these people?  
Merlin: How can you hate them when you obviously are one?   
Kay: I…I just don like em that’s all.   
Merlin: Fair enough. [Merlin talking to Kay]

Merlin: So, King Arthur, what do you think of my house?  
Arthur: It’s…very nice. This room is very beautiful. I’ve never seen so much gold in one place before.   
Merlin: It is surprising for a King to say that.  
Arthur: Yes, I suppose. [Merlin and Arthur talking]

Merlin: So what do you spend your money on? If you do not surround yourself with gold and the things that make a man wealthy then what do you do with all of your wealth?  
Arthur: I spend it on the people, and on wars. That is why I am…  
Merlin: Gold is a precious substance. It helps seal your energy within yourself. It is the only substance on this earth that energy cannot penetrate. It is also very nice to look at. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Arthur: Yes it is nice but I um…  
Merlin: So you spend your money on your people and on wars. Why do you fight so many wars?  
Kay: You interrupt the King too much mighty wizard. He may not be as powerful as you but he es still a King.   
Arthur: Kay be quiet. [Arthur and Merlin talking as Kay interjects]

Merlin: No need to quiet your friend down King Arthur. You have surrounded yourself with powerful friends I see. Great warriors every one I imagine.   
Arthur: Yes they are. And they are also great people. They each have their problems like every man does but they are loyal and trustworthy and I would trust my life to any of them. Even if Kay does talk too much. [Merlin talking to Arthur as Arthur shoots Kay another dirty look]

Merlin: Nonsense, I like a man who speaks his mind. You should be more like your friend Kay. Now tell me, truthfully, with confidence and without hesitation, why do you fight so many wars?  
Arthur: To protect the people in my Kingdom. And to protect the ideals and beliefs of my Kingdom. We call it the Chivalric Code. It is a code of honor that I strive to live by every day of my life and will die to uphold. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Arthur: My country is under constant attack from barbarians and from mighty empires like the Romans. That is why I am here before you today. An entire Roman army with over 100 thousand men has most certainly already set down on the southern tip of this continent and will be attacking my capital of Camelot any day now. [Arthur talking passionately]

Arthur: My army is already stretched to its limits fighting with the Irish and the Scottish. There is no hope left for my Kingdom if you do not help us. Without your help Merlin my Kingdom will fall into the hands of a dishonorable man named Lucius, a man with no Chivalry. Please, help me and the people of my Kingdom and I will do whatever you ask in return. I will give you all of the gold and wealth you could ever want. [Arthur pleading with Merlin]

Merlin: Heh, do you think me that materialistic and greedy Arthur? I must say, your view of me is not very flattering.   
Arthur: I am sorry Merlin, I meant no offense. I…  
Merlin: Tell me, why do the Romans want to attack you? Their empire is crumbling as we speak and yet they send 100 thousand men to your shores. What did you do to incur their wrath? [Merlin talking to a dismayed looking Arthur]

Arthur: It is not the Romans who want me destroyed, it is the Roman general Lucius. I refused to aid the Romans in destroying the French and that gave Lucius the excuse that he needed to come over here and take my country. He knows that the Roman empire is falling and he wants my land and my sword for his own before it does. [Arthur talking]

Merlin: So this Lucius is jealous of you is he? He covets your sword. And what do you think he will do once he gets your sword and your Kingdom?  
Arthur: He will destroy everything I have created. Like I said, Lucius is not a Chivalrous man. He does not believe in mercy, or compassion, or wisdom, or love. All he cares about is power and that is all that he will use my Kingdom for, his own power. [Merlin talking to Arthur] 

Arthur: Please Merlin, I will do whatever you ask. Keep my Kingdom out of the hands of Lucius and I will be yours to command. I will even give you my most prized possession, the greatest sword in all the world. Excalibur, the sword that brings invincibility to whoever may hold it. [Arthur stands up and presents Merlin with his sword]

Merlin: Ah yes, Excalibur. This truly is a wonderful sword.  
Arthur: So you have heard of it?  
Merlin: Heh, of course I have heard of it. I am the one who put it in the stone. The stone that you pulled it out of. [Merlin talking to a surprised Arthur]

Merlin: Hello Zephan, my old friend. This sword contains the soul of a man who was once my best friend. It means more to me than you could ever imagine. But it is yours, I left it there for you. It is a key, a key to a place that no creature on this earth can go except you. [Merlin gazes fondly at the sword in his hands]

Arthur: So YOU are the one who created the legend of Excalibur? You are the one who wrote the inscription in the stone?   
Merlin: Yes, I have been waiting for a hundred years to meet the man who could pull this sword from that stone. And after a hundred years of waiting I must say, it is an honor to meet you. [Merlin bows to Arthur and offers him back Excalibur]

Arthur: I…Thank you. You’ve…been waiting for me?  
Merlin: Yes, ever since you pulled Excalibur from that stone. I was surprised when I heard that a 15 year old had done it although I shouldn’t have been, a baby could have taken it out of that stone, if it was the RIGHT baby. [Arthur has a surprised look on his face as he takes back Excalibur]

Merlin: Tell me, what made you think you could retrieve the sword after so many strong men had failed to do so?  
Arthur: I wasn’t planning on it really. Kay and I were on our way to a sword fighting tournament when Kay realized that he had forgotten his sword at home. I took a shortcut back home to get it for him and just happened to come across Excalibur along the way. [Merlin talking to Arthur]

Arthur: …I didn’t really expect to be able to pull it out but since I was there and I was in a hurry I decided to give it a try. You can imagine how surprised I was when I pulled it out without any effort at all. It was like someone was pushing it out, right into my hands. [Picture of a young Arthur pulling Excalibur from a big stone with an inscription written on it that says, “Whoever taketh this sword from this stone shall be the next King of England and will be praised as the greatest King in all of Briton’s history”]

Arthur: I let Kay use it for the tournament and when the people saw what sword he was using they all praised him as the next King. Kay went along with it for a couple of days but he eventually confessed that I was the one who had pulled it from the stone. [Arthur is talking as Kay gets an embarrassed look on his face]

Arthur: Until that day I was just an orphan, a nobody with no Royal blood whatsoever running through my veins. A couple of months after that however they made me King on my 16th birthday.   
Merlin: And now you have come to me. [Arthur and Merlin talking]

Merlin: Didn’t you find it odd that a 15 year old boy was able to pull out the sword when the strongest men in all the land had tried and failed?   
Arthur: Yes, but I just thought it was my fate. I figured that it must be my destiny to become King of England.   
Merlin: No not fate Arthur, magic! [Merlin talking to Arthur]

Merlin: …Thousands of men tried to pull Excalibur from that stone during the 87 years that it sat there waiting for you. They tried to pull it out with horses and mules, they tried to chip away the rock surrounding the sword, they tried anything you can think of and it never worked…because it was sealed there with magic. [Picture of giant muscle bound men pounding away at the stone with sledge hammers]

Merlin: I put a special spell on that stone, a spell that interacted with the magical properties of Excalibur. The magic within Excalibur sealed it within that stone and that seal could only be broken if it was touched by someone with a pure soul. Only someone who was pure of heart, with great character, could pull it from that stone. [Merlin talking as he looks at Arthur]

Merlin: …I was tired of looking for someone with a pure soul and that was the best idea I could come up with. I merely put that inscription on the rock as an afterthought. I decided that someone who could retrieve Excalibur SHOULD be a King. After years of people witnessing the stones magic the legend caught on, not because of me or because of fate, but because of human superstition. [Picture of Merlin inserting Excalibur into a inscriptionless stone]

Arthur: So…What do you need someone with a pure soul for?   
Merlin: I will defeat the Roman Army for you Arthur. I will be yours to command until the day one of us dies, but first you must do a favor for me. A favor that only you can do.   
Arthur: What is it? I will do anything you ask of me. [Merlin talking to Arthur]

Merlin: There is a place on this earth, a place of great evil and great chaos. A place where no man or beast can go. It is a place filled with powerful magic and sustained by two powerful souls locked in eternal combat.   
Lancelot: The land of a Thousand Storms! [Merlin talking as Lancelot interjects] 

Merlin: Heh, aptly named, although there are probably no more than 50 storms raging there at one time. Of course it can seem like a thousand storms when you are in the middle of it. This is the place Arthur that I need you to go to. Only a man with a pure heart and Excalibur in his hand can survive that unholy realm. [Merlin talking]

Arthur: Of course, I will gladly go there and do whatever it is you need me to do. But, why can’t you just go there yourself?  
Merlin: It is the one place on this earth that renders me powerless. If I were to venture in there I would become nothing but an old man, too weak to even lift a sword. You are the only one in the entire world, that I know of at least, who can accomplish this task.   
Arthur: What is it you need me to do Merlin? [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Merlin: …At the center of that, “Land of a Thousand Storms” is a castle. That castle is where the magic emanates from, stretching out about 3 miles in every direction. On the roof of that castle are two bricks. They look like any bricks that you would use to build castle walls with except you will be able to tell these apart by a subtle glow, an aura that each of the bricks radiates. [Picture of the roof of a castle in the middle of the storms with two bricks that have a slight glow around them. One has a yellow glow to it and the other has a red glow to it]

Merlin: They are like Excalibur. Do you see the blue glow around it? Have you ever noticed how you can sense its presence? That is how you will be able to tell these two bricks apart from all the rest. Inanimate objects do not have a presence or an energy to them, Excalibur and these two bricks do. [Merlin talking as Arthur inspects his sword]

Arthur: I understand what you are saying. I have often felt the presence of Excalibur and when the lighting is right I CAN see a blue glow, all around the hilt.   
Merlin: Yes, the handle is where my friends spirit resides. There is a special form of magic that can only be performed by a great wizard when he is dying. It is the Spirit Relic spell where a wizard puts his very soul into any object he desires. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Merlin: At the end of the wizard wars, a hundred years ago, two powerful men stood atop that castle and battled each other. One was named Cuthal, he was my teacher and the wisest man I have ever known. The other was named Lorcan, a man who was more powerful than he was wise. [Merlin talking]

Merlin: …As a last desperate attempt to gain a victory Lorcan put his soul into the only object he could find, a brick broken off from the castle railings. Just like Excalibur has the unlimited ability to heal, Lorcan’s brick had the unlimited ability to corrupt. His plan was to lure men from all over Britain and have them do his bidding. [Close up of Lorcan’s brick with its red aura]

Merlin: …The brick has the ability of mind control you see. It controls the minds of humans and can summon them from great distances. Cuthal my teacher knew that this would be a disaster so he did the only thing he could at the time, he put his own soul into a brick and gave it the ability to counteract Lorcan’s Sacred Relic. [Close up of Cuthals brick with a yellow aura]

Merlin: …The effect however was something no one had ever seen before. There had never been two Spirit Relics created to oppose each other. It created a sort of…fuel to keep the flame of magic burning so to speak. It locked all magic’s in the area in place and created a permanent energy source that can keep them going until the end of time. [Picture of the two bricks with a stream of aura coming out of each and a bright explosion of light in the middle where the aura’s meet]

Merlin: …Magic is not meant to be permanent you see. It takes the concentration of a wizard to keep it going so that any creature that a wizard creates or storm that a wizard summons will disappear or fade away once the wizard takes his attention away from it or uses up all of his energy. [Picture of Merlin playing around near his property creating odd looking creatures like a frog with a birds head or a dogs head with a snakes body and a spiders legs. Next to Merlin a giant butterfly with a bear’s head and a grasshoppers legs is slowly fading away as he turns his attention to his other creatures]

Merlin: …The only magic that is supposed to be permanent is a Spirit Relic. When two Spirit Relics oppose each other however it makes all of the magic surrounding it permanent. And there was a lot of magic in the surrounding area that day. Hundreds of unnatural creatures were summoned, countless storms were summoned, and thousands of humans were subjected to mind control. All of these things were locked into place when Lorcan and Cuthal created the opposing Relics. [Picture of the entire castle as the two Relics collide with the bright explosion of light on the roof. There are horrific creatures all over the place. Dead bodies scatter the earth as storms rage and lightening strikes twenty different places simultaneously]

Merlin: What I need you to do Arthur is to go into that hell and destroy those Spirit Relics so that the magic will fade away. First I need you…  
Kay: Yeh must be off yeh bloody rocker to send me King into that! As powerful as yeh are Arthur yeh can’t survive all of that magic!  
Merlin: He can if he has Excalibur with him. With Excalibur in his hand he can survive anything. [Merlin talking to Kay]

Merlin: Excalibur serves two purposes Arthur. First of all it is the only thing that can keep you alive when you enter that place. Second of all a Spirit Relic can only be destroyed in one of two ways. A great wizard can destroy it with a special ceremony or, a Spirit Relic can destroy another Spirit Relic. [Merlin talking]

Merlin: When you get to the roof of the castle you must use the hilt of Excalibur to smash the bricks and release the souls within them. First you must destroy Lorcan’s brick and end the magic that it is producing. Then I would like you to destroy my teacher’s brick and free his soul so that it can ascend to heaven where it belongs. [Merlin talking] 

Arthur: I will try my best to accomplish this task Merlin, even if it means sacrificing my life. But what is so special about me? If all you need to survive in there is Excalibur then why not send Kay? He is stronger than I am and just as skilled a fighter.  
Kay: Ah, yeh flatter me King. [Arthur is talking as Kay blushes]

Merlin: Because Kay is not pure of heart. You are not the first person I have asked to perform this task Arthur. There were many attempts and failures before I decided to put Excalibur in the stone. No man was ever able to withstand the corruptive forces of Lorcan’s Spirit Relic. Even the best of men failed, despite their good intentions. [Merlin talking as Kay frowns at him]

Arthur: What does it do? How does it corrupt a man?   
Merlin: It uses a form of magic called Mentalism. It influences your mind and your emotions. Lorcan’s Relic makes men want to learn the secrets of Wizardry. It gives you a desire for power that is overwhelming and then shows you how to get that power. Only a man with the greatest of wisdom or the purest of hearts can withstand its influence. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Arthur: So what happened to the men you sent in there before me? Did any of them survive?  
Merlin: They all survived, but they were all corrupted. Unfortunately I had to kill them myself.   
Kay: You won’t kill Arthur if he’s corrupted will yeh?  
Merlin: Yes. [The Knights all have shocked and worried looks on their faces]

Kay: Then he won’t do yeh damn favor for yeh!   
Arthur: Kay!  
Kay: No I won’t be quiet Arthur! Yeh agree to do this man a big favor and then he up and say’s he’s willin ta kill yeh?   
Arthur: What do you think that Lucius will do to me Kay? [Kay and Arthur talking]

Merlin: Once a man is corrupted by that Relic he becomes very dangerous. He is given the secrets of Wizardry and, with a certain amount of practice, can become a Wizard himself. A corrupt Wizard. That is something I can not allow. [Merlin talking solemnly]

Arthur: If I try and fail, will you still defeat the Roman army for me?  
Merlin: I will make you this promise Arthur. If you succeed in this task then I will be yours to command forever. And if you fail then yes, I will still defeat the Roman army for you.   
Arthur: Then I will try. But you must defeat the Romans first. As soon as you have defeated Lucius and his army I will try to accomplish your task. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Merlin: No, first you must do my bidding, then I will do yours.   
Arthur: But there’s no time! The Romans will be ready to attack any day now! It will take AT LEAST 3 days to get back to Camelot and…  
Merlin: Arthur, do you forget who you are talking to? I am a Wizard. A journey that would take you three days will only take me three hours…at most. [Merlin talking to Arthur]

Arthur: Oh, of course I’m sorry. I suppose I’m not thinking clearly right now. It’s been a long journey to get here and I’m tired.   
Merlin: No need to apologize. You and your men will spend the night here. I want you to get a good nights sleep so that you have all of your strength tomorrow. After you accomplish tomorrows task we will travel down to Camelot and be there by evening. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Arthur: You seem to have a lot of faith in me.  
Merlin: You are the man Excalibur chose. He would not have chosen you if you were not up to the task.   
Arthur: He?  
Merlin: I mean IT. I still think of that sword as my friend, Zephan. He always was a good judge of character. I trust his instincts. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Merlin: Fial! Fial will show you men to your rooms. Make sure Arthur gets his own room.   
Fial: Yes Merlin.  
Merlin: Good night Arthur. Get plenty of rest. You have a very big day in front of you tomorrow.   
Arthur: I will. See you tomorrow Merlin. [Fial comes in as the Knights start to leave Merlin’s sitting room] 

 

Chapter 8: Arthur Arms for Battle 

 

[Picture of Arthur in his armor knocking on a door]

Merlin: Who is it?!!  
Arthur: It’s Arthur Merlin. I’m sorry if I awoke you but I would like to perform my task as soon as possible.  
Merlin: Ugh, you’re like I child on his birthday Arthur. You’re up too early, you should have gotten more rest. [Arthur talking to Merlin through his bedroom door]

Arthur: I’m sorry…but can I get started soon? I want to get this over with.  
Merlin: Yes, yes, just give me a few minutes to get dressed. Meet me in my sitting room.   
Arthur: Thank you Merlin I’ll be there waiting for you. [Merlin in his bed looking groggy as he talks to Arthur. His bedroom is about 20 ft by 20ft with one window that overlooks the ocean. His bed and his head board are made out of gold and next to the bed is a golden table with a candle and a golden cup on it. There are hooks along the walls with Merlin’s clothes hanging from them including two cloaks, one white and one blue]

Merlin: I’ve never seen a man so eager to journey into the middle of hell before. …(Yawn) [Merlin is stretching as he mutters to himself and looks out of his window at the sun just coming up over the ocean] 

Merlin: Well, looks like all of you are early risers.   
Kay: A true warrior wakes up when he has to. When you’re at war yeh only sleep when yeh can.  
Merlin: Ha! We’ll see how you feel when you get to be 200 years old my boisterous friend. [Merlin enters his sitting room and finds all of the Knights gathered inside there]

Merlin: So this is your big day Arthur! How do you feel?  
Arthur: I feel good. Well rested. Although I can’t help but think about what is going on in Camelot at the moment.   
Merlin: Forget about your home for now my boy. You have an important task ahead of you that will take all of your energy and concentration. [Merlin is holding Arthur’s shoulders and talking to him with a big smile on his face]

Merlin: You have no time for worries or distractions. Have faith that your home is safe and do not think about it again until this job is done.   
Arthur: You are right Merlin. I will forget about everything else for now and concentrate on what I need to do. [Merlin is walking over to one of his golden bookshelves as he talks to Arthur] 

Merlin: Good, I have been waiting a long time for this and I want you to be at your best today. 98 years I have been waiting for this day Arthur. Can you imagine what it is like to wait 98 years for something? Follow my advice carefully since I have also been planning for this day for 98 years. Do what I tell you and there is no way you can fail. [Merlin is talking as he bends down and starts pulling bottles off of the bottom shelf of the golden bookcase on the left side of the room]

Merlin: First of all you must take off your armor, it will only do you harm in the “Land of a Thousand Storms”. You will be getting hit by anywhere from 3 to 10 lightening bolts every few seconds and any metal that you have on you will only increase its effect. After a few strikes that armor of yours would melt to your skin and encase you in it, making you immobile. [Merlin talking as he walks over to Arthur with a bottle of brownish potion]

Kay: You’re going to make him battle all of those monsters with no protection?   
Merlin: Excalibur is the only protection he needs. As long as he holds on to the hilt of that sword he will be alright.   
Arthur: I hope that I don’t drop Excalibur. If I let go of it for even one second I will get hit by lightening and die instantly! [Merlin talking with Arthur as he takes his armor off. Kay is talking in the background]

Merlin: That is what THIS potion is for. This contains the essence of tree sap, but it is a thousand times stickier than regular tree sap. This will make your sword like an extension of your hand and it will make it impossible for you to let go of Excalibur. Hold out your right hand. [Merlin talking as Arthur holds out his hand and Merlin pours some of the potion onto it]

Merlin: Now squeeze your hand and then grab onto Excalibur with your best grip. Grip it good because once you have gripped it your hand will be stuck in that same spot for three days before you can let go. [Merlin talking as Arthur carefully pulls out Excalibur with his left hand on the lower handle and then grips Excalibur with his right hand at the upper handle of the hilt]

Merlin: Keep a tight grip for a few seconds while the potion settles.   
Arthur: This sword is metal, will it melt after being struck by lightening too many times?  
Merlin: No, the lightening will pass through the metal blade and into the hilt which cannot be altered by anything except magic or another Sacred Relic. To avoid being struck by lightening too many times you should hold the sword over your head as much as possible so that it can act as a lightening rod and direct the lightening bolts away from your head. [Merlin talking to Arthur as he stands in his fighting stance practicing with his sword]

Merlin: Now to explain these other potions to you. This is the essence of the bear. It will give you a boost of power making you almost twice as strong as you are now. Its effect lasts about half an hour and it takes about twenty minutes before it kicks in. You should drink this when you first enter the Storm zone. [Merlin talking as he hands Arthur a bottle of red liquid] 

Merlin: This is the essence of fern spores. It will replenish your energy and it starts to take effect about 10 minutes after you drink it. You should save this for a time when you feel that your energy is waning. [Arthur has the red bottle tied to his belt as Merlin hands him a bottle of yellow liquid]

Merlin: And this is the essence of the fly. It will increase your speed and agility threefold but it will sap your energy once its effects have worn off. It starts working as soon as you take it but only lasts for about 15 minutes. You should wait to take this until you enter the castle and you should take the essence of fern spores immediately after you take this. [Arthur has a bottle of red and a bottle of yellow liquid tied to his belt as he takes a bottle of green liquid from Merlin] 

Arthur: Thank you Merlin. I appreciate any help you can give me.  
Merlin: I wish I had a potion to give you that would ward off the effect of Lorcan’s Spirit Relic but unfortunately there is none. Only the purity of your own soul can do that.  
Lamarak: I have something that I want to give you Arthur. [Merlin talking as Lamark talks out of the picture]

Lamarak: Since you can’t use your armor please, take my leather armor. It isn’t as strong as your armor but it is tough and flexible and may help protect you in there. It is the best leather armor in the world and since I can’t be there with you I want you to have it. It is the least I can do. [Lamarak walks over to Arthur with his leather armor in his arms]

Arthur: Thank you Lamarak. I’m sure this armor will help protect me on my journey.   
Lamarak: It has served me well. Many a blade would have touched my skin if not for this armor. [Lamarak and Arthur are talking as Lamarak fastens the breast plate onto Arthur’s torso. The breast plate covers Arthur’s chest and stomach, his crotch, his shoulders, and his back]

Lancelot: Here Arthur, take this from me. It isn’t made out of metal and can actually do some pretty good damage in close combat. It may come in handy in there.  
Arthur: I’m sure it will Lancelot. Thank you. [Lancelot hands Arthur his antler dagger as Lamarak fastens a forearm protector onto Arthur’s right forearm]

Bors: Look Arthur! I have something for you too! It may get dark in that castle with no sun outside so you might need a torch. Here, take this, it’s the last of my pitch. You can put it on your sword and use your sword as a torch if it gets hard to see in there.   
Arthur: That’s a very good idea Bors. Thank you. [Bors hands Arthur a small jug as Lamarak fastens a piece of leather armor onto Arthur’s thigh] 

Kay: Bah! Everybody’s got somethin to offer yeh but me! I feel so useless me King, I wish I could go with yeh. Here, take this please. It’s me secret stash of nuts and berries. Yeh might get hungry in there and need somethin to eat. I know its stupid but…I don’t know what else I could give yeh.   
Arthur: Don’t worry about it Kay, I appreciate the thought. Thank you. [Arthur is talking to a bashful looking Kay as Lamarak fastens a knee protector around Arthur’s knee]

Percivale: I don’t have much to offer either but I want you to take this. It’s my lucky eagle talon necklace. Luck is an important thing to have in battle and I believe that it is actually my greatest skill. Half of the shots I hit take more than just skill, you need luck to make shots like that and this necklace is a big part of that luck.   
Arthur: I believe in luck too Percivale and I appreciate any luck that I can get. Thank you. [Percivale is putting his necklace with an eagle talon tied to it around Arthur’s neck as Lamarak fastens a piece of armor onto Arthur’s upper arm] 

Galahad: I’m sorry Arthur, I have nothing at all to give you. I’ve tried to think of anything I could offer but I have nothing that you need. All I can offer you is to say thank you my King. Thank you for all of your sacrifices and hard work. I am honored to know you and I hope you come back safe and that you succeed splendidly in your task. [Galahad talking to Arthur as Lamarak puts an armored glove on Arthur’s left hand]

Arthur: Your words of encouragement are not nothing Galahad my friend. I thank you for them. I thank you ALL for your support. The task that I carry out today is not something that I do alone. You will all be there with me, in my head, urging me on, inspiring me, and motivating me to do whatever I must do to succeed. [Arthur is all armored up and ready to go as he stands there talking to his Knights] 

Lancelot: For justice. [Lancelot pulls his sword out and points it into the air]

Bors: For generosity! [Bors points his sword in the air]

Kay: For TRUTH! [Kay points his sword in the air]

Percivale: For FAITH! [Percivale points sword in air]

Lamarak: FOR COMPASSION! [Lamarak points sword in air]

Galahad: FOR COURAGE!!! [Galahad points sword in air]

Arthur: AND FOR EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MAKES A KNIGHT CHIVALROUS!!! [Arthur points Excalibur into the air]

Knights: WE ARE THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE!!! [The men all touch swords in a circle as Merlin looks on]

 

Chapter 9: A Story of Beginnings

Merlin: There is one more thing I have to give you for this journey. [Merlin is leading Arthur and the Knights around a corner of his house as the early morning sun shines down on them] 

Merlin: (Thought bubble) I create a CHEETAH. [Merlin creates a big cheetah the size of a horse out of thin air in front of all of the amazed Knights]

Galahad: Wow!  
Kay: What the bloody hell is that?  
Lancelot: I thought you needed a magic wand or something.  
Merlin: Only beginners need wands or staffs to concentrate their energies. I can do magic with a mere thought. [The Knights are all talking as the cheetah walks around]

Merlin: This Arthur, is called a cheetah. I encountered these when I was traveling in Africa and I must say that they run faster than any creature I have ever seen. This will get you to the castle three times faster than your horse and it won’t die from the lightening strikes. [Merlin talking as Arthur inspects the cheetah]

Arthur: Interesting creature.  
Merlin: Unfortunately it will start to fade away thirty minutes after leaving my sight. This is a one way ticket Arthur.   
Arthur: Oh. So I have to walk home? [Merlin talking to Arthur]

Merlin: You will have to walk to the perimeter of the Land of a Thousand Storms and can have one of your men waiting for you there with a horse. I don’t know how long it will take the magic’s there to dissipate after you destroy the two Sacred Relics. It could take as little as thirty minutes or as long as thirty days. [Merlin talking]

Merlin: In any case you should count on having to walk the three miles to get out of that place.   
Kay: I will bring yeh horse Arthur. I will be waiting for yeh there at the edge of that hell when yeh get out. I’ll go get ready right now.   
Arthur: Thanks Kay. [Arthur mounts the Cheetah as Kay runs off to get some horses]

Merlin: And now it is time for you to leave my friend. Remember to be true to yourself Arthur. Do not forget yourself in there. The closer you get to Lorcan’s brick the easier it will be to forget what you believe in.   
Arthur: I won’t forget myself Merlin. I’m ready for this.   
Merlin: Goodbye for now Arthur. I will see you again very soon. [Merlin talking to Arthur up on the Cheetah]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) Go to the castle!   
Galahad: Goodbye Arthur.  
Percivale: Good luck.  
Lancelot: See you soon King Arthur.   
Bors: I know you can do it Arthur.  
Lamarak: Wow look at him go! [Merlin sends the Cheetah running towards the Land of a Thousand Storms and it goes running off as the Knights cheer Arthur on] 

Kay: Wha! Where did Arthur go? I did not even get to say goodbye.   
Bors: He’s probably half way there already ya big oaf.   
Kay: Bah! I had better catch up to him then. [Bors is talking to Kay as Kay rides off leading Arthur’s horse across the Scottish countryside]

Merlin: It will be a long wait until he gets back. It is times like these when a few hours can seem like an eternity.   
Bors: I hate waiting. I’d prefer to be fighting alongside Arthur than waiting for him to get back. I find fighting to be a lot easier than waiting. [Merlin and Bors talking]

Merlin: Are you men hungry? Perhaps some fishing might help occupy your minds a bit. Come, follow me.   
Bors: Now that you mention it I am rather hungry. [Bors, Lancelot, Galahad, Percivale, and Lamarak are following Merlin down toward the ocean]

Lancelot: I’ve always been fascinated by wizards, ever since I was a little boy. My father used to tell me stories about them, stories that his father told him and that his father told his father.   
Merlin: That is how legends survive, parents passing the stories down to their children. [Merlin and Lancelot talking as they walk toward the edge of the coast]

Lancelot: It’s quite an honor to actually be in YOUR presence. Everyone knows about Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time. The only wizard to survive the wizard wars.  
Merlin: Heh. I survived the wizard wars more from luck than my own power. I wasn’t even close to the most powerful wizard back in those days. In fact I was one of the weaker wizards in my group. [Lancelot talking to Merlin]

Lancelot: Huh? But I thought you were the greatest wizard alive back then.   
Merlin: Legends lose a little of their truth with every generation. I was merely average for a wizard a hundred years ago. More powerful than a lot of wizards my age but still no match for the truly powerful wizards...like my teacher. [Lancelot and Merlin talking]

Lancelot: So you’ve gotten more powerful with age. When does a wizard’s power start to fade?  
Merlin: Yes I’m twice as old and twice as powerful as I was a hundred years ago. A wizard peaks anywhere from 100 years old to 150 so I peaked a long time ago. I still feel powerful however. But I’m sure that soon it will probably start to fade. [Lancelot talking to Merlin as they stand on the shoreline looking out at the ocean]

Lancelot: How old do wizards usually get to be?   
Merlin: It depends on how good a wizard is at Protectionism magic. The oldest recorded wizard lived to be 226 years old. I’m sure that record could have been easily broken though had the wizard wars never taken place. Wizardry was still in its infancy when all wizards but me were wiped out. [Merlin talking to Lancelot]

Merlin: Let’s do some fishing. Watch this.  
Lancelot: What’s Protectionism magic?  
Merlin: Shh, watch this. This is called Creationism magic. (Thought bubble) I create a giant spider! [Merlin and Lancelot are talking as Merlin flicks his hand and a giant spider appears out on the ocean surface]

Bors: Whoa!  
Lamarak: Amazing.  
Galahad: Can that thing bite us?  
Merlin: Heh, don’t worry child it won’t bite you. It only does what I will it to do. [The Knights look on in amazement as the 20 foot tall spider floats there on the ocean surface]

Merlin: Now to catch some fish. [The spider sticks its head into the water with a splash]

[Picture of the spider pulling its head out of the water with a big web bag in its mouth]

Galahad: What’s it doing?  
Merlin: Why catching us some fish of course! [The spider brings the web full of fish over to the shore and drops it on the ground]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) Leave. Ah what a nice catch. Look how big that trout is. I always get the best hauls when I fish that way. [The spider starts walking away as Merlin levitates the sack of fish in front of his face]

Merlin: Now, who wants to cook some fish?  
Lancelot: So, with Creationism magic you can create anything?  
Merlin: Just about. It is the hardest magic to learn and, at the risk of being a braggart, I mastered it when I was only 101 years old. [Merlin creates a fire pit and starts pulling out the fish to cook]

Lancelot: How many different kinds of magic are there?  
Merlin: There are four kinds of magic. The first type of magic that a wizard learns is Mentalism. People who use this magic are also called Controllers because this magic allows its user to control people’s minds and bodies and it gives you the ability to make things levitate. Like this. [Lancelot starts floating in the air as Merlin creates a knife and starts scaling the fish without using his hands]

Merlin: This is the easiest magic to learn and the quickest to master. It takes at least 20 years to master it but you can become a level 2 user in only 1 year.   
Lancelot: So there are different levels of mastery?  
Merlin: Yes. There are 5 basic levels to the mastery of any magic. [6 fish are being scaled by 6 floating knives as the Knights look on in amazement]

Merlin: The levels are only approximations of course but they are used to define a wizard’s understanding of a magic and their ability to perform it. Level 1 designates that they have a basic understanding of the magic and a simple ability to perform it while level 5 designates that a wizard truly understands the magic and can perform it perfectly. [The six fish are rotating on sticks over a fire]

Merlin: Each magic takes a certain amount of time to advance a level. For example a wizard must practice Mentalism for 6 hours a day every day for 20 years in order to master it.   
Lancelot: Sounds like a lot of work.   
Merlin: It is, especially if you want to master ALL of the magic’s. [Merlin and the Knights are all eating their fish now]

Merlin: Like I said before, Mentalism is the easiest magic to learn. After Mentalism is something called Protectionism. This takes 40 years to master. One of the main things that you can do with this magic is create an energy barrier that can protect you from anything but takes up a lot of energy so you can’t keep it up very long, especially a big barrier. [Merlin creates an energy barrier around himself and Lancelot as they eat their fish]

Merlin: People who use this magic are also called Healers because it gives you the ability to heal yourself and others. It allows you to heal sickness and disease, cuts and burns, broken bones, and anything else that can ail the human body. This is the magic that allows a wizard to live so long because they can constantly heal their own body. [Merlin talking] 

Merlin: The next hardest magic after that is Elementalism. This is a truly powerful form of magic that lets you control the weather. This magic takes 60 years to master and involves manipulating the elements in nature. That’s why wizards who do this form of magic are also called Naturists. [Merlin is causing the fire in the fire pit to expand into the air and take the shape of a lightening bolt]

Merlin: With this magic you can create fire and water with a mere thought and then control it however you like, you can cause storms and control lightening, you can cause earthquakes, and you can create any other type of natural disaster that you wish. [A stream of water from the ocean comes up and puts out the fire that is shaped like a lightening bolt]

Merlin: And finally the most difficult and complicated magic of them all is Creationism. People who use this magic are also called Makers because you can literally make just about anything that your imagination can come up with appear out of thin air. It is almost like being a God. [Merlin creates a double of Lancelot that walks over to Lancelot and shakes his hand]

Merlin: It takes 80 years to master this magic but it is worth it. It is no more powerful a magic than Elementalism but it gives you a deeper understanding of magic and it makes you wiser and a better over all wizard if you master it. This is the form of magic that made me want to be a wizard in the first place. [The Lancelot clone stands on his head and walks on his hands into the water]

Lancelot: That was strange. Do these “creations” of yours have a mind? Are they like real living creatures?  
Merlin: No, they have no organs or blood or a brain or feeling or anything like that. They are basically just a big moving hunk of flesh that do what I command them to. [The Lancelot clone is walking into the ocean with his legs sticking out]

Lancelot: Can they be killed?  
Merlin: They aren’t alive so they cannot be killed. They disappear on their own after 30 minutes however and they can be destroyed by chopping them up or burning them or anything of that sort. [Lancelot and Merlin talking]

Lancelot: So how do you become a wizard? Would it be possible for me to learn how to do magic?  
Merlin: No, there are no wizards any more. That ability will die with me. Even if I was willing to teach you however you are too old to become a wizard now. You would have to begin your training before your 12th or 13th birthday. [Merlin talking to Lancelot]

Merlin: You see the secret to becoming a wizard was a special concoction, a potion, made from sage, mint, and tobacco leaves grown in the soil within Stonehenge. If a child had the right sort of mind they would be allowed to take this concoction until their 18th birthday when it would do them no good any more. [Merlin as a child drinking the potion with a sour look on his face]

Merlin: The elixir, you see, is what expands your mind. It gives you an unnatural control over your entire brain and creates an awareness within you that normal human beings don’t possess. You are supposed to start taking it when you are 11 years old and by the time you are 18 the elixir has drastically altered the functioning of your brain. [Merlin is talking as the Knights all sit around him on the grass and listen intently]

Merlin: Other wizards help to train you once you reach the age of 11 to 13. They teach you the basics of being a wizard and give you a small taste of the 4 different magic’s. The first magic most wizards learn is Mentalism. The only thing you are really able to do by the time you’re 18 is lift objects with your mind and even that is very hard to do. [An 18 year old Merlin is struggling to lift a chair an inch off of the floor while he points a staff at it] 

Merlin: Once you become 18 years old you must find your own teacher and decide what type of wizard you want to be. Some wizards decide to only specialize in one type of magic while others, like myself, try to master them all. It took me until I was about 170 years old but I’m proud to say that I have mastered all 4 of the magic’s. [Merlin talking looking proud]

[Picture of Arthur riding the cheetah grabbing on with his left hand while gripping Excalibur in his right]

Arthur: (Thought bubble) Here already! This thing really is fast. [Arthur is entering the Land of a Thousand Storms as the cheetah plunges in to the sheet of rain]

Arthur: Argh!!! (Thought bubble) Damn it I forgot to put the sword up! [Arthur is struck by two bolts of lightening on his head]

Arthur: (Thought bubble) I need to take the red potion too. I wonder if this thing will follow my commands.   
Arthur: Stop I say! [Three bolts of lightening hit Arthur’s raised sword as the Cheetah comes to a skidding stop. Lightening is striking all over the place in the background]

Arthur: (Thought bubble) This place really is hellish. The sound is deafening. [Arthur is drinking the red potion as he looks out on the windy, rainy, lightening filled landscape]

Arthur: Now Go! [Three bolts of lightening are hitting Excalibur as the cheetah starts running again]

Lancelot: So wizardry must have started in Ireland if the potion was created by Stonehenge.   
Merlin: Yes. It was started about 600 years ago now, back around 100 B.C. The first wizard was a man named Monot from the area of Ireland where Stonehenge used to be. He was part of a tribe of ancient Druids that worshiped Stonehenge. [Lancelot talking to Merlin as they sit out on the grass under the sun in front of the peaceful ocean] 

Merlin: …It was a female dominated tribe that worshiped Goddesses instead of Gods. It was the most powerful Druidic order in the world although their power paled in comparison to the Wizards that would someday follow them. They used the magic contained within Stonehenge to create potions and do certain magic’s that were quite amazing at the time. [Picture of a group of Druids chanting around Stonehenge]

Merlin: …The only people in the tribe who could do any real magic was an elite group of Druidic Priestesses called the “Brigid Circle”. These 9 Priestesses, when gathered together, could do elementary magic like some Mentalism or, if they were at their best, they could do a simple Elementalism spell. [Nine women are gathered together in a circle around the alter in the middle of Stonehenge. They are holding hands and have their eyes closed as they chant. Other Druids behind them are looking on in amazement as a single bolt of lightening hits a sacrificed pig that is laying on the alter]

Merlin: …Monot was the son of the High Priestess Tara. As a child his mother told him that he was very connected to the magic realm and that he had great potential as a witch. Unfortunately since he was a man there was no way that he could ever be part of the Brigid Circle. In fact there was no way he could ever be anything more than a potion maker. [A young man is watching scornfully as the nine women in the Brigid Circle are gathered together in a circle holding hands and making a giant boulder levitate off of the ground]

Merlin: …As Monot got older he became more and more malcontent knowing that his great potential would go to waste. By the time he reached the age of 21 he had shown more magical talent than any one person in the entire tribe, including anyone in the Brigid Circle. He was an expert potions maker and he could levitate light objects all by himself but, since he was not female, he could never become a witch. [A disgruntled man is sitting in the woods mixing a potion as older witches are teaching young girls magic in the background]

Merlin: …When Monot reached the sacred age of 33 he demanded to be let into the Brigid Circle. 33 was the age when a witch became eligible to enter the elite group and, although Monot was the most qualified person in the tribe to become part of it, they flatly refused his demands. After that he left his tribe and he shunned the Druidic way of life from that day forward. [Monot is stomping off angrily as the Druids look on with their arms folded]

Merlin: …For ten years Monot lived as an outsider, a hermit that lived completely alone and only came out to visit the sacred Stonehenge when nobody else was around. He practiced magic alone and experimented with different potions that he created himself. Then, at the age of 43, he discovered the secret to unlocking TRUE magical abilities. [Monot is sneaking around in the middle of the night gathering mushrooms from inside Stonehenge]

Merlin: …The key to the potion was using three different forms of plant life that was grown in the magical soil WITHIN Stonehenge. The first potion of this type was made from mushrooms, ferns, and dill weed. He called it the Triskele serum. Later wizards would improve on the concoction until it was perfected with the three different leaves that I told you about earlier. [Monot is sitting on the forest floor concocting his potion with small piles of mushrooms, fern leaves, and dill weed next to him] 

Merlin: …Monot found that this serum enhanced his abilities ten fold so that he could do magic’s all by himself that only the Brigid Circle could do when all nine of them were together. He unveiled his abilities one day when the Brigid Circle was performing mind control on some Druids as the rest of the tribe looked on. [Monot is dressed in a cloak as he walks toward the tribe of a few hundred Druids that is gathered around Stonehenge] 

Merlin: …Monot walked right into the middle of Stonehenge where the Priestesses were gathered and said, “BEHOLD! Look what I, Monot can do! With the strength of my mind I have surpassed you, one and all!” Then he proceeded to levitate one of the sacred stones to the shock and awe of everyone around, including the members of the Brigid Circle. [Monot is in the middle of Stonehenge with his old tribe all around him looking on in amazement as he points his staff at the stone on the top of one of the pillars of Stonehenge and levitates it into the sky]

Merlin: …None of the Druids had ever seen anything like it, one person levitating a heavy stone like that. It caused every one of them to lose their powers of speech, including his mother the High Priestess. Monot broke the silence with these words, “I have come here today to prove that a man can do anything that a woman can do and more! Come with me my brothers! I will show you how to wield REAL power so that you need never again be afraid of any woman or man in this world.” [Monot is yelling passionately as he swings the big stone through the middle of Stonehenge narrowly missing the heads of the members of the Brigid Circle]

Merlin: …No men joined him that day but soon they would start seeking him out. Men tired of being treated like weak children would come to Monot looking for power and self respect. Within a year Monot was able to start his own group, made up solely of men, that he called the Wizardic order. [Monot stands in front of a hovel with his arms folded and a grin on his face as a Druid man kneels in front of him and kisses his feet]

Merlin: ...To Monot’s dismay the men coming to him did not develop powers from drinking the serum, it only enhanced any powers that they already had. Men with no powers received no benefit. Over the years however Monot found that the children that some of the men brought with them developed greater powers than even Monot himself if they started taking the serum early enough. [Monot is looking on in joyous surprise as a young man levitates a cow off of the ground]

Merlin: …By the time Monot was 60 years old he had developed the first magic which he named Mentalism. He mastered the ability to levitate objects and he could get into peoples minds to the point that he could control their every movement. He developed teaching methods so that the secret to this magic would not die with him. [An old Monot is sitting on a chair pointing his staff at one of 10 boys sitting around him. The child he is pointing the staff at is picking his nose with both hands and farting with a confused look on his face as the children around him laugh]

Merlin: Monot died when he was only 64 but his followers continued his teachings and built on what he had begun. Between the time when Monot died and the time of the wizard wars in 400 A.D. the practice of Wizardry grew very quickly to a point that Monot probably never imagined. [Merlin talking to the Knights]

Merlin: With the discovery of Protectionism magic in 108 A.D. Wizards were able live a lot longer and this allowed them to become wiser and more powerful than ever before. Elementalism was discovered in 142 A.D. and Creationism soon followed in 168 A.D. bringing a whole new dimension to a Wizards abilities. [Merlin talking]

Merlin: By 400 A.D. there were almost a thousand wizards living throughout Ireland, England, and Scotland. The Wizardic order lasted for less and 500 years but within that short amount of time it spawned the most powerful beings this world has ever seen. [Merlin talking]

Lancelot: So why did it end? Why did all of the wizards suddenly decide to just kill each other off?   
Merlin: At their core wizards were still just men. The Wizardic order became too powerful for its own good. It became a threat to itself and to all life on this planet. [Merlin talking to Lancelot]

 

Chapter 10: Corruption of the Wizardic Order

 

[Picture of Arthur riding up to a castle as 8 lightening bolts hit his sword simultaneously. There are strange creatures all around and zombies roam all over the place. The zombies are dead knights who have their eyes closed but are walking around aimlessly all over the outside of the castle]

Arthur: (Thought Bubble) What a place! A place where the dead walk and unnatural creatures reign! [Arthur’s sword is getting struck by ten lightening bolts simultaneously as he looks out at the approaching castle with a moat around it and dead knights walking all around. He see’s Golems walking around, distorted looking horses that stand upright, and a giant Troll. A giant bear with wings is swooping down from the air behind Arthur]

Arthur: Aaahrggg!!! [The bear grabs Arthur’s cheetah out from under him causing Arthur to spin around in the air as the bear flies away with it]

Arthur: Ahh!!! (Though Bubble) I’m lucky this sword is stuck to my hand or I might have dropped it just now. This task may be even harder than I thought. [Arthur is sitting on the ground as 9 lightening bolts hit the top of his head singing his hair]

Arthur: (Thought Bubble) I guess I’ll be jumping this moat. Glad I don’t have my armor on or I’d never get across. [Arthur is standing at the edge of the moat around the castle]

[Picture of Arthur running towards the moat]

[Arthur jumps at the edge of the moat and flies across the water]

[Arthur hits the wall of the moat and sticks his sword in the dirt to keep from falling into the water. He is about a foot away from the water and two feet from the top]

Arthur: Aaaarggh!!! What the hell is this thing? [Arthur is clinging to the wall of the moat as a giant piranha jumps out of the water and latches on to his calf]

Arthur: (Thought Bubble) It’s jaws are like steel and it’s heavy. How am I going to get to the top? [Arthur is struggling to pry the piranha off of his leg with his left hand but he can’t get it off]

Arthur: (Thought Bubble) This came in handy after all Lancelot. I should be able to pry it off with this. [Arthur is using Lancelot’s antler dagger to pry open the mouth of the piranha as he uses his right leg to kick it off]

Arthur: (Thought Bubble) Now to get to solid ground before any more of those things find me. [Arthur is scrambling up the side of the moat using his sword and the antler dagger for traction]

[Arthur reaches the surface of the moat and pulls himself up on the castle side of the moat]

Arthur: Argh!!! (Thought Bubble) Damn lightening! I’ll actually be relieved to get inside that castle. [Arthur is pushing a zombie off of him and into the moat as 10 lightening bolts hit him in the head]

[Picture of the zombie falling into the water of the moat as 3 giant piranhas all scramble to chew it to pieces] 

Arthur: (Thought Bubble) Alright, now for the hard part. [Arthur is walking towards the castle about a 100 feet away with his sword in the air absorbing 10 bolts of lightening as he puts the antler dagger away and kicks a zombie out of his way]

[Picture of Merlin and the Knights sitting on the sun drenched grassy hill looking out at the peaceful ocean]

Merlin: Up until around the year 380 wizards had pretty much kept to themselves using their skills only in self defense against anyone who might try to harm them or take their lands. They usually lived in no more than groups of five and had little to do with life in the normal human world. [Merlin talking to the Knights]

Merlin: …Every so often a wizard might hire himself out for a bit of money if he needed it but that sort of thing was looked down upon within the wizardic order. There was a stigma about using your powers for profit so most wizards rejected that sort of thing and despised any wizard who tried to do that. [Picture of a wizard being pulled away by a giant troll as 6 other wizards look on in anger]

Merlin: …With a new generation however came new thoughts and new ideas of how wizards should use their power. Younger wizards, usually under 100 years old, believed that it was acceptable to hire themselves out as mercenaries to the many power hungry kings that filled this country at the time. [A wizard is accepting bags of gold with glee as a king sits on his throne with a smirk on his face]

Merlin: …Back then this country was not ruled by just one king as it is today. There were over a hundred kings living in their castles all throughout the country. They were all competing for land and wealth making conflicts and vendettas very common throughout the entire country. [Two small armies are facing each other holding their opposing flags] 

Merlin: …Wizards were the perfect weapon to give a king an edge and they were willing to pay handsomely for their services. Assassinations were the most common service that a wizard was hired for in the beginning. Most wizards were good at Mentalism and with this simple magic you can kill a human from miles away making the death look like it was from natural causes. [Split picture of a wizard concentrating and a king grabbing his throat in his bed]

Merlin: …Many kings died this way until people started to figure out what was going on. After that any king who wanted to stay alive was forced to hire AT LEAST one Mentalism wizard to protect him from being assassinated. It wasn’t long before every king in the country had one or more wizards on his pay roll. [A picture of the map of England with over 100 castles dotting it]

Merlin: …By the year 380 it was commonplace for a king to have 2 or 3 wizard mercenaries in his service. Even some of the older wizards went along with the trend and tried to get rich by hiring themselves out to the highest bidder. The more powerful of a wizard you were the more money you could get. It was more than a lot of wizards could resist. [Two wizards are competing in front of a king outside of his castle. One wizard creates a tornado that sucks up trees in a nearby forest while another wizard creates a dragon that rips out trees by the roots and sets fire to some of the trees in the forest]

Merlin: …Warfare between the different houses took on a completely new shape after that. Any king who did not have an Elementalist or a Creationist at his disposal was incapable of competing with the houses that did. War was no longer decided by manpower, now it was decided by wizard power. [Two armies are going up against each other, one army has about one thousand men and three wizards, the other had about five thousand men and one wizard. The army with three wizards is destroying the other army with a dragon, a 100 foot bear, fire balls falling from the sky, and a small tornado that is cutting through their ranks]

Merlin: …The years from 380 to 400 were the deadliest in England’s history. Thousands of people were dying every month from rampant natural disasters, mental assassinations, and wild unnatural creatures. Even the Romans were scared to visit this island at that time and they withdrew all of their troops to avoid any more losses. [Peasants run for their lives across the English countryside as a tornado pulls up houses, lightening strikes simultaneously as far as the eye can see, and giant monsters kill everything in sight]

Merlin: …During this time many wizards simply ignored their morals and joined in with the chaos. Other’s watched with an unsympathetic eye as they went about living their lives apart from it all. Other’s, like my teacher, looked on with horror and dismay trying to convince their fellow wizards that what they were doing was wrong. [Merlin’s teacher Cuthal is pleading with a group of 4 wizards outside of a castle as they look on with annoyance] 

Merlin: At that point however a trend had been set in motion that no one could stop. My teacher and a few of the oldest and wisest wizards did all they could to change the way things were going but there was nothing any of them could do. The last straw came in 398 with the destruction of the house of Cree. [Merlin talking to the Knights]

Merlin: …The house of Cree was lead by King Erral. Erral was a man of contradictions, he was kind and generous while at the same time vindictive and cruel. He was good to his people and had one of the lowest tax rates in all of England. But to his enemies he was a devil as brutal and malicious as any man can be. [Erral sitting on his throne]

Merlin: …Erral was at war with a king named Belenus from the house of Maon. Erral did not have enough wizards to defeat Belenus and Erral’s Mentalism wizard could not assassinate him because he was protected at all times, so out of frustration he had Belenus’ wife and three children assassinated instead. [A woman and three children are clutching their chests and falling to the ground]

Merlin: …Belenus, insane with grief and anger, ordered Alastair, his best Elementalism wizard, to destroy Erral’s entire castle and everyone in it. Alastair was young but he had poured everything he had into learning Elementalism so that he mastered it. [Belenus is ordering Alastair to do his bidding]

Merlin: …Alastair was an evil, power hungry person who never should have been taught the ways of a wizard. Unfortunately as the wizardic order expanded people like him were able to slip through. Alastair had no wisdom and no conscience but great power which is a very bad combination. [Alastair is standing a couple of miles away from a castle as he puts his fingers to his temples and concentrates on something far away]

Merlin: …Alastair was able to summon a great tidal wave that was over a mile high and a mile across. He sent it ten miles inland, across farms and homes and forests, until it reached Erral’s castle. In an instant he wiped out not only the castle but most of the villages surrounding it. [A gigantic tidal wave is crashing down on the castle with villages and houses around it]

Merlin: …Not only did that tidal wave kill Erral, his family, his servants, and his entire army of over 4 thousand men, but it also killed over 40 thousand innocent peasants in the surrounding villages. It was the last straw, and the beginning of the wizard wars. [The tidal wave has washed away the castle and any signs of life surrounding it leaving only rubble and dead bodies floating in its wake] 

Merlin: …My teacher Cuthal was outraged by what Alastair had done and decided to make an example out of him. Since Alastair was only a level 2 Mentalist Cuthal was able to assassinate him. He exploded Alastair’s brain so that there would be no mistake about what had happened. [Alastair is sitting in his lavish bed chambers when his brain explodes. It comes out of his ears, his nose, and it pops his eyeballs out as brains fly out of his eye sockets]

Merlin: …It did scare the other wizards when they heard that one of their own had been assassinated but it still didn’t change anything. That’s when Cuthal held a meeting for the oldest and most powerful wizards he could find along with his two students, myself and my friend Zephan. [A group of ten wizards is sitting around a rectangular wooden table with Cuthal at the head of it]

Merlin: …My teacher Cuthal was 225 years old at the time and he had mastered all four forms of magic. He was the oldest wizard alive and he was greatly respected throughout the wizardic community for his wisdom and his power. He was arguably the greatest wizard to ever walk the earth. [Close up of Cuthal sitting at the head of the table]

Merlin: …The second oldest wizard alive at the time was named Liam. He was 210 years old and had mastered Mentalism, Protectionism, Elementalism, and was a level 3 master of Creationism. He was also looked up to for his wisdom. [Close up of Liam sitting at the table at the meeting]

Merlin: …Aedam was not far behind Liam at 204 years old. He had mastered Creationism, Mentalism, Elementalism, and he was a level 3 master of Protectionism. [Close up of Aedam sitting at the table]

Merlin: …Ogma was 192 years old and had mastered Creationism and Mentalism while becoming a level 3 master of Protectionism and Elementalism. [Close up of Ogma]

Merlin: …Macklin was 180 years old and had mastered Protectionism and Mentalism. He was a level 2 master of Elementalism and a level 3 master of Creationism. [Close up of Macklin]

Merlin: …Torin was 179 years old and had already mastered Creationism and Elementalism. He was a level 4 master of Mentalism and a level 3 master of Protectionism. [Close up of Torin] 

Merlin: …Galloway was 172 years old and was a master of Elementalism. He was a level 4 master of Mentalism and Protectionism but only a level 2 master of Creationism. [Close up of Galloway]

Merlin: …Larkin was 168 years old and he was a master of Mentalism and Elementalism. He was a level 4 master of Protectionism and a level 2 master of Creationism. [Close up of Larkin]

Merlin: …At that time I was only 98 years old and hadn’t mastered anything yet. I had concentrated a lot of my time on Creationism and was a solid level 4 master of that but only a level 2 master of everything else. [Close up of a young Merlin sitting at the table]

Merlin: …My best friend Zephan was even younger than me at only 78 years old. He had poured everything into Protectionism though and had managed to master that. He was a level 3 master of Mentalism but only a level 2 master of Elementalism and a level 1 master of Creationism. [Close up of Zephan] 

Merlin: …This was the team that my teacher had assembled for a very important task. I knew that things were bad at the time but I couldn’t believe my ears when I first heard what he was planning to do. [Picture of all of the wizards sitting around the table]

Cuthal: Some of you may already have an idea of why I called this meeting. Others of you may not understand what I am about to say but please just stay and hear me out until the end. That is all that I ask. [Cuthal talking to the other wizards] 

Cuthal: Over 200 years ago when I was a young man I can remember how wizards were respected for their power and revered for their wisdom. They kept to themselves and only used their powers when it was necessary. The Wizardic order has changed a lot since then. It is more powerful than ever and yet it is also just a shadow of its former self. [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: Over the past twenty years I have seen a degradation in the way many wizards think and act. It is a great responsibility wielding powers such as ours, a responsibility that many of our fellow wizards are unable to live up to. Every day I hear of wizards using their power to kill people for money. This is unacceptable. [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: Since I was a boy the Wizardic order has doubled in strength. In another two hundred years it will become even stronger. In another two hundred years there may be ten thousand wizards out there killing each other along with innocent people. [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: In another two hundred years this country could be filled with the natural disasters and hideous creatures that our people create on a daily basis. Some day this country will be destroyed, some day wizards will spread across the entire world destroying everything in their path. That is why I have had to come to this final decision… [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: The entire Wizardic order must be destroyed. [Close up of Cuthal]

[Picture of the wizards at the meeting. Some of them have shocked looks on their faces while others just bow their heads in solemn agreement]

Merlin: You want to kill all wizards? Even the good ones? [Merlin is talking with a shocked look on his face]

Torin: Are you sure that it is necessary to kill all of them? Most wizards are still good people Cuthal. It is just an ignorant minority that are causing all of the troubles! [Torin talking angrily]

Cuthal: It is true that most wizards are still able to take responsibility for their powers. But over a hundred of them are out there right now killing people and destroying the countryside for their own profit. That means over 10 percent of wizards are too dangerous for their own good. That is 10 percent too many. [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: Twenty years ago it was only 1 percent of wizards. The percentage will grow and so will the number of wizards in this world. Some day the bad could outnumber the good and there will be no stopping the damage that they will do to the entire earth. The simple fact is that the bigger the Wizardic order grows the more dangerous it becomes. [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: As wizards we have become greater than any human beings on the planet, but in the end we are still just men. At their core wizards are still just lowly men, with the same emotions and faults as all other men. Greed, ignorance, anger, jealousy, fear – these are the faults of men and they are our faults as well. [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: As much as the Wizardic order would like to believe that it is better than men it is not. Wizards are more powerful than men but they still have the same flaws as all other human beings. Wizards are still a part of the human race and the human race is not ready to wield such power. [Cuthal talking]

Torin: I understand your point of view Cuthal but you’re asking us to kill our friends, our FAMILY! How can we do that? [Torin talking]

Cuthal: This wasn’t an easy choice for me. I have spent twenty years contemplating this decision. After all of those years I have come to see that there is only one choice, Wizardry can not be allowed to go on. If it does then it will some day destroy itself, along with the entire earth. [Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: We must kill all wizards and then wipe out any signs that we ever even existed. All of our secrets, all of our knowledge, every book, ritual, potion, it all must be destroyed so that no man can ever again become a wizard. The Wizardic order must die with us. [Cuthal talking]

Merlin: But, teacher, you always said that the greatest thing a person could do was to gain wisdom and knowledge. Now you want to destroy all of the knowledge that our people have gained over the past 500 years? Why must we do that! [Merlin talking, looking distraught] 

Cuthal: I still believe that wisdom is the greatest thing a man can achieve, but I have come to see that knowledge without wisdom is a very dangerous combination. The knowledge of how to control another person’s mind, of how to control the weather, the knowledge of creation, these are things that most people should never know how to do. [Cuthal talking] 

Liam: So what is your plan Cuthal? There are only ten of us and a thousand of them. They won’t go down without a fight you know. [Liam talking]

Cuthal: Will you help me?   
Liam: Yes, I’ll do what you ask.   
Cuthal: Thank you Liam. If anyone here wants no part of this then you can leave now. I won’t think poorly of you. [Cuthal and Liam talking]

[Picture of the wizards sitting there looking at each other]

Ogma: What about us? Do we all have to die too?  
Cuthal: Not if you promise that your secrets die with you. The wizards in this room are good people with kind hearts and strong minds. If all wizards were like us than there would be no need for this. [Ogma and Cuthal talking]

Cuthal: So, are you all willing to fight by my side? [Close up of Cuthal]

Liam: I understand the need for this. I will help you.  
Aedam: Me too.  
Ogma: I’m in.  
Macklin: I’ll do it.  
Zephan: I will fight by your side teacher.  
Galloway: I’ll help.  
Larkin: I will do what I can.  
Torin: I’m not happy about this but I see the necessity for it. I will help.  
Merlin: I don’t like it either, but I will help you teacher. [The wizards all agree to help]

Cuthal: We will start with simple assassinations. We have six Mentalism masters here. Liam, Aedam, Ogma, Macklin, and Larkin you will help me assassinate as many wizards as we can. [Cuthal talking] 

Cuthal: First we will kill all wizards with less than a level 3 mastery of Mentalism. After that we should be able to kill all level 3 masters if all six of us work together and concentrate on them at the same time. [Cuthal talking] 

Cuthal: After that we will start hunting them down and killing them one at a time. It doesn’t matter how long this takes, all wizards and all knowledge of how to become a wizard must be wiped out. [Cuthal talking]

Merlin: …Thankfully I wasn’t good enough at Mentalism at that time to kill another wizard so I didn’t have to participate in the killing at the beginning. Cuthal and the other Mentalism masters however were hard at work night and day killing off all of the weakest wizards. [Picture of Cuthal, Liam, Aedam, Ogma, Macklin, and Larkin sitting around a table with their eyes closed and their fingers to their temples deep in concentration]

Merlin: …Over the next couple of months wizards all around the country started dropping dead. Some died from self inflicted injuries, others died from disease, but most died because their heart simply stopped beating. After only two and a half months, over 400 wizards were already dead. [Picture montage of a wizard striking himself with lightening, a wizard being crushed by a troll, a wizard dying in his bed, and a wizard falling down as his friends try to help him]

Merlin: …After that the assassinations got a lot more messy. Cuthal and the others found that the only way to assassinate a wizard who was a level 3 master of Mentalism was to explode their brain or internal organs. They were able to kill them though and a month later almost 200 more wizards were dead. [A wizard is at the head of an army as his stomach suddenly explodes to the surprise and dismay of the soldiers behind him]

Merlin: …At that point all wizards were scared for their lives. They realized that someone was killing them all off so they started banding together into small groups for protection. It wasn’t long before they realized that WE were the ones responsible for all of that killing. [A group of 10 wizards are gathered around a table in some castle room talking angrily and making plans] 

Merlin: …There was nothing they could do though, Cuthal had assembled a group of ten of the strongest wizards in the world and everyone else was spread across the continent in groups that usually had less than 5 or 6 wizards in it. But still, the killing was a lot harder at that point. We could no longer assassinate them from afar, we had to kill them up close, face to face. None of us liked doing it. [The ten wizards are gathered around an enemy who is yelling and cursing them as his 4 friends lay dead near him. All of the ten wizards have solemn looks on their faces as they get ready to kill him] 

Merlin: …I was never happy about killing off my fellow wizards. The wizards we were killing just wanted to stay alive. It was hard for me to kill them but I respected my teacher and believed in his wisdom and his judgment. They hated us and we understood why but we still had to accomplish our task. We still had to kill them all, no matter how cruel it may have seemed. [The ten wizards are fighting with 6 wizards near a castle. They are hitting the 6 wizards with a barrage of lightening bolts, dragons, trolls and fire balls]

 

Chapter 11: Lorcan and the Wizard's Last Stand

 

[Picture of Arthur entering the creature infested castle as he drinks the last of his potions]

Arthur: (Thought Bubble) Remember Arthur, these creatures aren’t flesh and blood, they don’t have feelings and they don’t have minds. They are just machines bent on killing anything that they come across. [Picture of Arthur looking out upon a sea of creatures and zombies that are rushing to kill him]

[Arthur stabs a zombie in the stomach but it just keeps hitting him with its fists]

[Arthur chops the zombies head off as a gorilla’s body with a boars head takes a bite out of Arthurs shoulder]

Arthur: Arrrgh! (Thought bubble) I won’t last long in here even with Excalibur. I’d better run for it. [Arthur is thinking to himself as he turns around and chops down on the boars head cutting it right in half. There are no blood vessels or organs in the beast, only green flesh]

[Arthur runs through the group of creatures and zombies cutting off an arm as he goes]

[Arthur makes it to the stairs where he is met by a giant scorpion]

[Arthur cuts off the scorpions head as the scorpions tail strikes Arthur on the top of HIS head]

[Arthur runs past the scorpion up the stairs as the creatures and zombies try to get him]

[Arthur is met by two zombies as he runs up the stairs and with one big swing of Excalibur he cuts the legs out from underneath both of them and they go tumbling over]

Merlin: Now there was a man named Lorcan who was about 200 years old at the time and he was almost as powerful as my teacher. He was a master of Mentalism and Creationism as well as a level 4 master of Elementalism and Protectionism. [Merlin is talking to the knights]

Merlin: …Lorcan decided to fight against what he saw as Cuthal’s tyranny and he began collecting wizard warriors of his own. [Picture of Lorcan. He is tall with a grey beard and spotty grey hair and an evil look on his face.]

Merlin: …He first collected the most powerful wizards he could find. There was Breslin – about 190 years old, an Elementalism master. [Picture of Breslin creating a tornado]

Merlin: …Then there was Doran, an old wizard who was a master of protectionism. [Picture of Doran creating a protective bubble over his entire castle]

Merlin: …There was Tynan, about 200 years old and a master of Creationism. [Picture of Tynan creating a giant octopus with ten legs]

Merlin: …Then he found Flann, a 150 year old Elementalism expert. [Picture of Flann creating a tidal wave]

Merlin: …And lastly there was Gorman, a 130 year old Mentalism expert. [Picture of Gorman controlling ten humans like they were puppets]

Merlin: …These were his core group of wizards, all masters of something, all good at everything. But he did not stop with these five men, he took over castle Champagne and made it a stronghold for other wizards to find refuge. [Picture of ten wizards running towards a castle]

Merlin: …It was the thing that Cuthal most feared, but something he knew was bound to happen. We stepped up our efforts to kill as many wizards as we could before Lorcan became all powerful. We worked night and day hunting all of the wizards down. [Cuthal, Merlin, and the other 8 men are fighting with twenty wizards on the open plains near a forest at night. Cuthal is simultaneously creating a giant snake while casting a protection spell over himself. Liam is causing one of the other wizards to turn on his own people while at the same time healing himself. Aedam is creating a giant boulder and a giant bear at the same time. Ogma is creating an army of lava people. Macklin is exploding the brains of one of the opposing protectionism wizards. Torin is creating a group of giant bees. Galloway is hitting the opponents with lightening. Larkin is creating a tornado. Merlin is creating a 20 foot tall bear. And Zephan is in back creating a giant force field around everyone. The team is being rained on by lightening and a meteor shower and their creations are being battled by giant snakes, bears, and a tidal wave]

Merlin: …Soon all of the wizards in the world were either dead or at castle Champagne with Lorcan. From what Cuthal could tell there were 54 wizards at that castle all unique in their combination of mastery and skills. They were set to go on the offensive after a year of running and hiding from us. [Lorcan surrounded by 53 different wizards all gathered on top of a castle]

Merlin: …We were all worn out by the constant warfare so Cuthal decided it would be best if we retreated to a cave on the northern shores of the Scottish isles. There we slept, talked about life and death, and discussed all of the topics that wise old men like to talk about. [Merlin and his men are in a cave gathered around a camp fire]

Merlin: …We rested there for two weeks until we regained our energy and then it was time to attack castle Champagne… [Cuthal is talking to his men on the shores of Scotland]

Cuthal: This is it my friends. It is time to end this once and for all. Most of us will probably die in this attack but it’s what we must do. [Close up of Cuthal]

Cuthal: The first thing we will do when we get there is to gain control of the surrounding population. There are about 20 thousand peasants living around that castle and I don’t want any of them getting hurt. We will make them leave their villages and put fire to them as they go for a distraction. [Cuthal talking to his men]

Cuthal: Once we get to the castle I want Aedam, Ogma, Macklin, Torin, Galloway, Larkin, and Merlin to create a distraction while Liam, Zephan and myself enter the castle and kill the wizards off one by one. [Picture of Cuthals men as Zephan and Merlin look at each other.]

Cuthal: Ok friends, let’s end this war. [Close up of Cuthal]

[Picture of Cuthal and his men flying through the sky on giant birds]

[Picture of thousands of peasants fleeing their villages as their homes go up in flames. The ten wizards are standing nearby watching]

[Picture of the ten men walking up to the castle on a sunny afternoon]

Cuthal: Zephan, Liam…  
Zephan and Liam: We’re on it! [Picture of Cuthal, Liam, and Zephan casting force fields over their team as they are struck by a hundred bolts of lightening, a meteor shower, a tidal wave, and a tornado]

Lorcan: Kill them. KILL THEM! THEY are the harbingers of doom, bent on our annhilation! [Lorcan is on top of his castle with ten wizards all casting spells as Lorcan points forward]

Aedam: (Thought Bubble) TIDAL WAVE! [Aedam with his eyes closed and his fingers on his temples.]

Ogma: (Thought bubble) ARMY OF LAVA MEN! [Ogma has his hand outstretched as twenty six foot tall men made of molten lava appear right in front of him]

Macklin: (Thought bubble) EXPLODE BRAINS! [Macklin has his finger pointed at an oncoming wizard whose head suddenly explodes]

Torin: (Thought bubble) STORM! [Torin has his hands outstretched as a giant storm cloud appears above the castle.]

Galloway: (Thought bubble) METEOR SHOWER! [Galloway has his hand outstretched as a bunch of flaming meteors falls on the approaching wizards]

Larkin: (Thought bubble) EARTHQUAKE! [Larkin with his fingers to his temples as the ground begins to shake beneath the oncoming wizards]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) SPIKED BALL! [Merlin has his fingers to his temples as a giant ball with sharp spikes sticking out of it rolls right at the oncoming wizards]

[Picture of all hell breaking loose as storm clouds rage, monsters are created, and men’s heads explode]

Lorcan: Quickly, Doran, help me save the castle!   
Doran: Yes Lorcan. [Picture of a giant tidal wave heading for the castle as Lorcan and Doran stretch out their arms and put a giant force field around the castle]

[The tidal wave crashes into the force field and doesn’t do any damage to the castle]

Cuthal: Liam, Zephan, we’re going in. Macklin you’re in charge of keeping everyone safe now.  
Macklin: Yes Cuthal. [Cuthal, Liam, and Zephan charge the castle as Macklin puts his hands up and creates a giant force field.]

[The other wizards provide cover for Cuthal, Liam, and Zephan by shooting fireballs at the enemy, creating a giant water fist to hit the enemy with, and making it rain ice cycles.] 

[Cuthal, Liam, and Zephan enter the castle and Zephan immediately gets hit with a fireball in the chest. He is blown backwards as Cuthal and Liam destroy the attacking wizards.]

Cuthal: You ok Zephan?  
Zephan: Yes...I’ll be alright. [Zephan is healing the big wound on his chest]

[Liam puts a protective shield around the three of them as Cuthal creates a giant wolf to ravage the oncoming wizards. The wolf bites one of the wizards head off.]

Macklin: I’m running out of energy here friends.   
Galloway: I’ll take over for awhile. [Macklin’s shield is being pelted by flaming meteors, lightening, and a giant Cyclops with an ax. Macklin has a strained expression on his face as Galloway stretches out his arms and makes a smaller shield]

Larkin: I’ll take care of that Cyclops. (Thought bubble) BOULDER! [A giant boulder falls out of the sky and lands right on top of the Cyclops.]

Aedam: I’ll take care of that Protectionism expert. (Thought bubble) SUICIDE! [Aedam is pointing his finger in the direction of a wizard creating a shield.]

[The wizard creates a lightning bolt inside the shield that kills him instantly and the shield goes down.]

[The ten wizards that were inside the shield get squashed by meteorites, hit by lightening, and ravaged by giant tarantulas]

[Picture of Cuthal and Liam finishing off the wizards inside the castle. Cuthal explodes one of their brains and he goes down.]

Cuthal: Let’s head up those stairs! [The men go running up the same stairs that Arthur was running up]

Galloway: I’M running out of energy now. Maybe we should split up. [Galloway’s shield is being attacked by giant bees, ice cycle rain, lightening, a giant bear, and meteors. The ground beneath them is cracked and shaking.]

Aedam: Merlin you and Galloway come with me. Ogma and Larkin you go over there. Macklin and Torin you head that way. [Macklin stands up as Galloway gets a strained look on his face and Aedam shouts out orders]

[The seven wizards split up and head in different directions]

[Cuthal, Liam, and Zephan get to the top of the castle where Lorcan and his best wizards are. Lorcan has Breslin, Doran, Tynan, Flann, and Gorman still with him.]

Cuthal: Lorcan! It’s time for you to die.  
Lorcan: Cuthal. Why are you doing this? [Cuthal and Lorcan shouting to each other from opposite sides of the roof.] 

Cuthal: The wizardic order has gotten out of hand Lorcan. We ALL need to be wiped out!  
Lorcan: No Cuthal. Only you and your men need to be wiped out. Wiped out for being traitors! [Lorcan launches a torrent of tornados at the three wizards. Cuthal immediately puts up a shield]

Cuthal: Zephan, do you have enough energy to protect us by yourself?  
Zephan: Yes.   
Cuthal: Good. You put up a shield while Liam and I destroy these wizards. [Cuthal talking to Zephan]

[Zephan puts up a protective shield as lightening strikes from above. Cuthal summons a giant crow and Liam summons a meteor shower]

Lorcan: Doran, you protect us. Gorman, you try to get into that Protectionism experts head. Tynan, Breslin, and Flann, you throw everything you’ve got at them.   
Wizards: Yes Lorcan. [Doran stretches out his arms and puts a giant shield around the five wizards. Gorman closes his eyes and puts his fingers to his temples. Breslin summons a giant hail storm and Flann summons a torrent of lightening. Tynan summons a giant scorpion and Lorcan summons a giant bear.]

Zephan: They’re trying to get into my head!   
Cuthal: Liam, protect Zephan from that Mentalism expert!  
Liam: Got it. [Zephan is squinting his eyes as he fights off Doran’s mental powers. Liam turns his attention from his meteor shower to protect Zephan.]

[Picture of Arthur making it to the roof of the castle. The roof is entirely black from being struck by lightening so many times. There are rabid beasts and zombies roaming around on the roof.]

[Arthur chops a two headed bear in half as he roams the rooftop. In the distance he can see the glowing spirit relics opposing each other. Sparks fly between them.]

Arthur: (Thought bubble) I can feel the presence of both of those bricks from here! I feel myself being influenced by Lorcan’s brick. Fight it off Arthur, you must fight it off. [Arthur is cutting a zombie in half]

[Picture of Merlin, Galloway, and Aedam battling ten wizards by themselves. Galloway is summoning a small shield to protect them, Aedam is summoning lightening, and Merlin is summoning a strange looking beast.]

Galloway: That’s it friends, I can’t go on any longer.  
Aedam: Scatter! [Galloway drops to the ground as the shield fades away.]

[Galloway gets hit by lightening and dies there on the ground]

Merlin: NO!   
Aedam: Cover me while I kill their Protectionism expert. [Merlin is mourning the death of his friend while Aedam puts his left finger to his temple and points at one of the wizards with his right hand. One of the opposing wizards brain explodes.]

Aedam: I’ll cover us while you hit them with everything you’ve got Merlin.  
Merlin: (Thought bubble) GIANT FIRE SNAKE! [Aedam puts up a shield as Merlin creates a giant snake made out of fire that wraps around the nine remaining wizards and begins to crush them.]

[Picture of Ogma and Larkin battling twelve wizards]

Larkin: I don’t know how much longer I can hold this shield Ogma!  
Ogma: Don’t worry. They’ll all be dead soon. (Thought bubble) EXPLODE BRAIN! [Larking is holding up the shield with one hand. Ogma explodes the Protectionism expert’s brain and their big shield goes down.]

Ogma: (Thought bubble) GIANT POLECATS! [Two giant polecats appear and start ripping the head off of one of the opposing wizards as the wizards scatter.]

Larkin: I’m taking the shield down. (Thought bubble) METEOR SHOWER! [Larkin’s shield goes down and a meteor shower pummels the scattering wizards. Two of the wizards get squashed while the others are able to dodge them.]

Larkin: That’s all I have left in me.  
Ogma: Run for it! [Larkin collapses and the remaining 8 wizards come after them.]

[Larkin gets surrounded by the wizards and they explode his entire body.]

Ogma: (Thought bubble) GIANT BEAR! [A 20 foot black bear appears and attacks the 8 wizards.]

[The bear lumbers toward the wizards swiping one of them with its big claw and taking his head off.]

Ogma: (Thought bubble) SHIELD! [Ogma puts up a shield that is pummeled by meteorites, lightening, and ice cycles.]

Ogma: (Thought bubble) I’ve got one last surge of energy left in me. GIANT BOULDER! [a giant boulder appears over the 8 wizards heads and crushes five of them as the other three jump out of the way]

[Ogma drops to the ground, defenseless. He is immediately hit by lightening and killed.]

[Picture of Macklin and Torin fighting seven wizards]

Macklin: I can’t hold this shield up any longer Torin. We’re done for!  
Torin: Just seven of them left old friend. Just hold it a little longer. (Thought bubble) GIANT FIRE ANTS! [Macklin has a strained look on his face as Torin unleashes a stream of giant fire ants that attack the opposing wizards and bite them]

Macklin: Sorry, I’m at my limit.   
Torin: (Thought bubble) LIGHTING STRIKES! [Macklin falls to the ground as his shield goes down and Torin hits two of the opposing wizards with lightening]

Torin: Macklin!!! [One of the opposing wizards causes an earthquake and Macklin is swallowed up by the earth while Torin is shaken to his knees.]

Torin: (Thought bubble) METEOR SHOWER! [Torin reaches up and sends forth a meteor shower that kills two of the wizards.]

[All of a sudden a giant dog is created behind Torin and he gets bitten in half]

Aedam: We should go help the others. If any of them are left.  
Merlin: Yes Aedam. My energy is restored, I can fight again. [Picture of Merlin and Aedam resting by the castle as lightening strikes all over the place.]

Aedam: Oh no.  
Merlin: Look at all the devastation! [Merlin and Aedam turn the corner and see dead bodies everywhere. Some are friends, most are enemies.]

Wizard: There’s only two left! Should we take them ourselves or go for Lorcan’s help? [All of a sudden six tired wizards confront Merlin and Aedam]

Merlin: You won’t have time to do either!!! (Thought bubble) GIANT AXE BLADE!  
Aedam: (Thought bubble) LAVA MEN! [An angry Merlin summons a gigantic axe blade to slice the six remaining wizards from head to foot. Aedam summons six lava men who go running towards the six doomed wizards.]

Wizards: Ahhhh! [Before they have a chance to react the giant axe blade cuts five of them in half and the lava men surround and kill the sixth]

Aedam: Looks like Cuthal might need our help. Let’s go. [Aedam is looking up at the roof of the castle where a giant boulder has just been exploded by ten strikes of lightening]

[Aedam and Merlin rush into the castle]

Merlin: Zephan! Are you ok?  
Aedam: LIAM! You bastards. [Merlin and Aedam get to the roof of the castle and see Liam lying dead next to Zephan who’s arm is bitten off at the elbow. He is healing his wound but his arm is gone.]

Cuthal: Aedam don’t! [Cuthal yells at Aedam who is rushing Lorcan and Breslin, the last two remaining enemy wizards. Doran, Flann, Gorman, and Tynan are lying dead near Lorcan and Breslin.]

Cuthal: (Thought bubble) EXPLODE BRAIN! [Aedam is struck by lightening that Breslin created as Cuthal explodes Breslin’s brain]

Lorcan: You haven’t beaten me yet! [Lorcan stands there with his arm bleeding all over the place as he puts a shield up around himself]

Cuthal: Merlin, are you alright?  
Merlin: Yes. Everyone’s dead though Cuthal. Just the three of us remain.   
Cuthal: Don’t worry about that now Merlin. We have to stop Lorcan. I just read his mind. He’s going to do something terrible! [Cuthal talking to Merlin as Lorcan picks up a brick in the background]

Lorcan: They will come from miles around. You will have to kill every man woman and child in the land if you want to stop them. Ha, ha, ha. [Lorcan is bleeding on the brick as Merlin lets loose with a giant boulder that bounces off of Lorcan’s shield and Cuthal tries to get into Lorcan’s head to explode his brain.]

Lorcan: (Thought bubble) MAY THIS SPIRIT RELIC BRING HUMANS FROM ALL AROUND TO BECOME WIZARDS AND DESTROY CUTHAL AND HIS MEN! [Lorcan puts the brick to his forehead and casts one last spell]

Cuthal: NO! [Lorcan’s body drops to the ground along with the brick which now glows red.]

Merlin: What happened? What did he do?  
Cuthal: He created a spirit relic the likes of which no one has ever seen. As we speak it is calling to humans all around the country to come here and learn the ways of the wizard so that they can do evil. [Cuthal talking to Merlin among the destruction]

Merlin: What can we do? Can we destroy it?  
Cuthal: There’s no time. It takes weeks to destroy a spirit relic.  
Zephan: We must get out of here. It is too dangerous to be up here any longer. I can’t hold this shield any more. [Merlin talking to Cuthal as lightening strikes all around them and zombies come up the stairs.]

Cuthal: There’s only one thing we can do. Merlin, get Zephan and yourself out of here. [Cuthal talking to Merlin as he cuts his own wrist with a knife]

Merlin: What are you doing?!   
Cuthal: I’m creating an opposing spirit relic. Something that will keep Lorcan’s relic in check. [Cuthal rushes over to Lorcan’s brick and picks up a brick of his own and bleeds on it.]

Cuthal: Goodbye Merlin, goodbye Zephan.   
Merlin: Cuthal no. There has to be another way! [Cuthal is holding the bloody brick up to his forehead]

Cuthal: (Thought bubble) MAY THIS SPIRIT RELIC COUNTERACT LORCANS SPIRIT RELIC FOR AS LONG AS IT MAY EXIST! [Cuthal drops to the floor with his yellow glowing brick]

Merlin: NO!  
Zephan: Come on Merlin, we must get out of here. [Zephan talking to Merlin]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) GIANT BIRD! [Merlin creates a giant bird right in front of them.]

[Merlin helps the crippled Zephan onto the bird and they fly off]

 

Chapter 12: The End of a Nightmare

 

[Picture of Arthur doing battle with strange creatures on top of the castle]

Arthur: (Thought bubble) If only I could use that Spirit Relic for good. Then I wouldn’t even need an army. I could protect this country all by myself! [Arthur chops through a wild beast while getting hit by lightening.]

Arthur: (Thought bubble) Then none of my soldiers would need to die. With that great of a show of force my ENEMIES might not even have to die. [Arthur is chopping through the legs of a giant 20 foot bear]

Arthur: (Thought bubble) NO Arthur. You are falling into it’s trap. But the force is so great! I want that Spirit Relic for my own. [Arthur getting hit by lightening as he does battle with a 10 foot tarantula]

Arthur: NO! THOU SHALT HAVE COURAGE AT ALL TIMES! [Arthur shouts out loud as he battles his way closer to the red glowing brick]

Arthur: THOU SHALT HAVE OPTIMISM AND HOPE AT ALL TIMES! [Arthur cuts down another zombie as he gets to the Spirit Relic.]

Merlin: After Zephan and I made it to safety we went back to the cave to rest. [Merlin talking to the knights]

Merlin: …We tried to go back into that hell but we quickly found out that our powers no longer worked in there. [Picture of Merlin and Zephan entering the land of a thousand storms and almost getting hit by lightening.] 

Merlin: …We talked for many weeks about what to do and finally Zephan came up with a plan. [Merlin and Zephan talking inside the cave.]

Merlin: …We got a blacksmith to build us the best sword he could with a golden hilt. Then, to my dismay, Zephan put his soul into it. [Zephan bleeding onto Excalibur and putting it to his forehead]

Merlin: …I gave that sword to many strong men before I realized that not just any man could complete this task. [Merlin creating a giant bear to bite off the arm of a man carrying Excalibur]

Merlin: …That’s when I put the sword in the stone and waited. Waited all of this time for Arthur to come along. [Merlin putting Excalibur in the stone and saying an incantation over it]

[Picture of Arthur standing over the red glowing brick as lightening pounds him. His hair is all singed now, Lamarak’s leather armor is all burnt and cut to pieces and Arthur has a crazed look on his face.]

Arthur: THOU SHALT BE A KIND AND LOVING PERSON, ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE ONES THY CARE ABOUT THE MOST. [Arthur raises Excalibur into the air]

Arthur: For Courage! For Perservearance! For Patience! For Hope! For Faith! For Loyalty! For Truthfulness! For Respect! For Compassion! For Love! [Arthur pounds the brick with the hilt of the sword ten times]

Arthur: And for everything else that makes a man Chivilrous! [Arthur hits the brick one last time and it shatters into a hundred pieces]

Arthur: I am a knight of the Round Table. [Arthur collapses on the roof of the castle as two lightening bolts strike his back and the soul of Lorcan floats away]

[Picture of Kay waiting anxiously outside the Land of a Thousand Storms]

Kay: Aye me king! Yeh look like yeh been through hell!  
Arthur: I have Kay, I think that is what hell would be like. [Arthur walking out of the Land of a Thousand Storms as Kay looks on in disbelief]

Kay: Do yeh want to rest me King?  
Arthur: No time for that Kay. Lucius’ men are on our shores by now. We must hurry. [Arthur getting on his horse as Kay helps him up]

Merlin: …And that’s why I brought Stonehenge to England. I wanted to keep a close eye on it and make sure that nobody learned how to become a wizard again. Ah they’re back already! [Picture of Merlin talking to the knights around a camp fire as Arthur and Kay come riding up.]

Merlin: You did it! I can tell by your face that you accomplished your goal.   
Arthur: Yes Merlin. I destroyed both stones. [Picture of Arthur getting off of his horse as he talks to Merlin]

Lamarak: Oh my God Arthur! You look horrible. What did you do to my armor?  
Arthur: Sorry Lamarak, it’s destroyed. Looks like you’ll have to get some new armor. [Arthur walking up to the men who have a dismayed look on their face.]

Galahad: Are you ok Arthur?  
Arthur: Yes I’m fine, Excalibur did its job well. I just need some rest. [Arthur talking to Galahad.]

Arthur: Now it’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain Merlin. Tomorrow morning bright and early we set out for the southern tip of England right?  
Merlin: Of course, of course. Arthur I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done. After all of these years, it's finally over. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

 

Chapter 13: A Surprise for Lucius

 

[Picture of Merlin, Arthur, Kay, Percivale, Lamarak, Lancelot, Galahad, and Bors flying on giant birds across the Land of a Thousand Storms which is now just a burnt out husk of land with no storms in it at all]

Merlin: There it is. Castle Champagne. I haven’t laid eyes on that castle in over a hundred years.  
Arthur: The damage doesn’t look as bad from up here.  
Kay: I can’t believe yeh single handedly destroyed the Land of a Thousand Storms me King! Yeh truly are the greatest King ever.  
[The men fly over Castle Champagne with its black roof]

[Picture of the men walking through a forest]

Lamarak: A scout! Want me to go get him?  
Merlin: Leave him be. It’s better that they know we’re coming. That way they’ll line up for us and get close together. It’ll make it easier for me to battle them all. [Merlin talking as Lamarak points to a running Roman scout.]

[Picture of the Romans all lined up in battle formation as Arthur and his small band of fighters enter the battle field]

[Lucius and two of his Generals ride to the middle of the battle field and Arthur, Kay, and Lancelot walk up to them]

Lucius: Where is the rest of your army Arthur? All I see are seven men at your back.   
Arthur: That’s all I need Lucius. Give up now and no blood need be shed.   
Lucius: Ha, you are funny Arthur. I guess you think that with Excalibur by your side you can defeat an entire army. Well I guarantee that by the end of the day I will be prying that sword out of your cold dead hand.   
Arthur: This fight won’t last that long. This is your last chance. [Arthur talking to Lucius]

Lucius: Your mind is even worse off than your body Arthur. Surrender now or you and the rest of these men here will die for nothing. You can’t beat an entire army. You’re not a God.  
Arthur: Neither are you. I have a wizard on my side Lucius. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. [Arthur talking to Lucius]

[Arthur and his men head back to their 8 man army as Lucius and his men head back to their 100 thousand man army.] 

Merlin: He wouldn’t surrender?  
Arthur: No. It looks like you have one last great battle on your hands Merlin.   
Merlin: This will be easy. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Lucius: Archers! Fire! [The archers are in front of the army firing thousands of arrows at the eight men.]

[The arrows fall like rain but bounce harmlessly off of Merlin’s protective bubble]

Lucius: What sort of magic is this? Not one arrow even came close to hitting them. All Cavalry. Advance! [Thousands of cavalry rush towards the eight men]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) GIANT PORCUPINES! [Merlin sticks out his hand and the battlefield is covered in 10 foot tall porcupines. They line up in front of the cavalry and stick out their giant quills.]

[The cavalry runs right into the twenty giant porcupines and they get impaled on their quills.]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) METEOR SHOWER! [The remaining cavalry are beset by a huge meteor shower that takes out half of their remaining men]

Arthur: They are retreating! Good job Merlin!  
Merlin: Now to strike at the heart of their army. [The remaining cavalrymen retreat into the woods as Arthur looks on]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) EXPLODE BRAINS! [Merlin has his finger pointed at Lucius]

Lucius: Send in all troops! Full attack! Ahhh! [Lucius is giving out orders as his brains start to ooze out of his ears]

General 1: Our leader is dead! What shall we do?   
General 2: You heard his last orders. Send in all troops! [Lucius’ brain explodes coming out of his ears, his eye sockets, his nose, and his wide open mouth as his generals take over]

[The remaining Generals lead a charge of the rest of the army]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) EARTHQUAKE! [The oncoming army starts to fall all over themselves as the ground shakes beneath their feet]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) THUNDER STORM! [Lightening begins to strike the confused soldiers who are all of a sudden thrown into the heart of a mighty thunder storm]

Arthur: I wouldn’t have believed it all if I hadn’t of seen it with my own eyes.  
Galahad: What magic!  
Bors: This man is truly powerful.  
Kay: Yeh weren’t lyin about yeh powers old man.   
Lamarak: There’s no escaping his wrath!  
Percivale: Merlin, the most powerful magician ever!  
Lancelot: I told you this would work! [The Knights of the Round Table look on in awe]

Merlin: (Thought bubble) ARMY OF GIANT TASMANIAN DEVILS! [All of a sudden twenty ten foot tall Tasmanian devils appear on the battle field and start chewing up all of the Roman soldiers.]

[The Romans and their generals all run for the forest behind them in full retreat]

Merlin: I told you it wouldn’t take much. Now Arthur, I have done your bidding as you have done mine. We are even.  
Arthur: If my kingdom is ever in trouble again can I ask for your help?  
Merlin: I will always be at your service, great King. [Arthur talking to Merlin as Merlin bows in front of him.]

Arthur: Thank you for saving my kingdom.  
Merlin: Thank you for destroying the Spirit Relics. Now I have one last thing to ask of you. When you are old and can't fight any more I hope that you will bring Excalibur to me so that I can set my old friends soul free some day.   
Arthur: I will Merlin. That is a promise from a Knight of the Round Table. [Arthur talking to Merlin]

Merlin: Now I must say my goodbyes. Arthur, Kay, Lancelot, Galahad, Bors, Lamarak, and Percivale, it was nice meeting you all.   
Lancelot: Thanks for everything.  
Arthur: Goodbye Merlin. [Merlin talking to the Knights]

Merlin: Goodbye for now. (Thought bubble) GIANT BIRD! [Merlin creates a giant bird and gets on top of it.]

[Merlin rides off into the sunset atop his giant bird]

Galahad: That was amazing!  
Bors: Did you see that flaming meteor shower?! What a show!  
Lancelot: I knew that if we found him we could beat the Romans.  
Arthur: You were right Lancelot. I owe you my kingdom.  
Lamarak: He is truly the most powerful man on the planet.   
Percivale: Can you imagine what it would have been like back when there were hundreds like him? It must have been a sight to see indeed.  
Kay: He still could have at least given us a ride home. [The Knights reflect on Merlin’s power as they walk towards Camelot far off in the distance]

[Picture of all of the Knights of the Round Table sitting around the table]

Arthur: Well we did it men. We fended off attacks from the Romans, the Irish, and the Scottish all at the same time. I’m proud of each and every one of you.   
Knights: Thank you King Arthur! [Arthur talking to his knights]

Lancelot: For Courage!  
Galahad: For Perseverance!  
Lamarak: For Patience!  
Percivale: For Hope!  
Bors: For Faith!  
Kay: For Loyalty!  
Gawaine: For Truth!  
Geraint: For Courtesy!  
Bedivere: For Compassion!  
Tristan: For Love!  
Gareth: For Justice!  
Gaheris: For Generosity!  
Arthur: And for everything else that makes a man Chivilrous! [The Knights all hold up their swords]

Knights: We are the Knights of the Round Table! [All the Knights shouting in unison as they touch swords]

 

The End


End file.
